Death Note: Harbinger of Death
by The Materialist
Summary: Frost, a "half-albino" orphan at the Wammy House, discovers a Death Note with the power to prevent murders. Meanwhile, Death Notes begin to appear one-by-one in the Human World. With the power of the Shinigami King at his side, can Frost stop the madness?
1. Family

**This story is based off of the _manga_ version of Death Note, which (including time) has some slight alterations compared to the anime version. Therefore, with that being said, this takes place _after_ Death Note's conclusion. Also, this story has _nothing_ nor _anything_ in major or even relative comparison to any "Life Note" stories. Lastly, the rating of this story may go up due to some more "intimate" subjects and language.**

**- The Materialist**

**--**

**DEATH NOTE: HARBINGER OF DEATH**

**By The Materialist**

"Death is when the monsters get you."

- STEPHEN KING, _Salem's Lot_

**I**

His weapon was his pen. His strength was his notebook. His shield was his own will. He could take one glance at Death, slap it in the face, and Death would not slap back. His dog was Death, and it was his best friend. He was once Kira... L... Light Yagami... the Killer of Men, the Deceiver of Women, and, once, the God of the New World. Now he is dead, and his legacy has been banished... forever...?

--

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 2:15 AM

Snow fell quietly in the early morning sky. The Wammy House was just as silent. The orphans were all in bed, sleeping the morning away in waiting for Christmas Day where they would see their presents all aligned under the Christmas Tree in the study room down the hall. Not a one of them rustled in their soft, white beds. Most of them may not have believed in Santa Claus, but they still believed in the spirit of Christmas. It was a time of happiness and generosity that had been known for many generations past. Although they did not have parents, they did have each other. Even the naughtier of the children believed in this aspect. Nonetheless, the excitement would have to wait until morning. One boy, however, could not wait... or could it have been that he couldn't simply sleep?

A dark-haired boy sat at the window in his white, blue-stripped pajamas hugging his knees to his chest. His wide, red eyes watched the black sky above as the snow fell gently onto the blankets that had been passed on the previous days. The uneven, white streaks in his wild, black hair shimmered in the darkness of the room. He blinked curiously as a snowflake touched the window before him and immediately melted. He pressed his hand against the window where the snowflake melted. After a moment, he closed his eyes and breathed a sigh as he rested his forehand against his knees. There was a single, long silence.

"Frost, what are you doing?" a voice whispered in a tired manner from the bed to the left of the window the boy sat at.

The dark-haired boy looked up slightly from his knees with a red glint in his eyes, "Good morning, Arc," he mumbled darkly back.

"Can't sleep?" Arc asked sleepily with a pillow covering his eyes and his blanket covering his entire body except for his face.

"I don't sleep," Frost answered in the same dark tone, but the glint in his red eyes vanished as he put his head back to his knees.

Arc rustled back to sleep with his pillow over his eyes. Frost, the boy by the window, lifted his pale head and continued to watch the snow. The red glint in his crimson eyes continued to shine brightly. He slowly brought a finger up to the window and began to write a name in the collected condensation.

N-E-A-R

Frost brought down his finger and starred at the name for a moment. Then he brought his head back down to his knees and looked away from the name. Frost took his sleeve and began to wipe away the name. _Who are you, Near?_ he thought. Lost in thought, Frost took his right thumb and began to chew at his fingernail.

--

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 5:40 AM

It was still dark at the Wammy House. The sun had not nearly risen yet, and many of the orphans were still asleep. Despite this, Frost was still awake. He was in the study wrapping presents with an elderly man in a rich-looking, brown robe. This elderly man was Avery Peterson, III, the headmaster of the Wammy House after the previous headmaster.

Mr. Peterson loved children and wished only for their happiness. He never hurt them in anyway nor would he ever want to. Frost was like a son to Mr. Peterson, as Frost had never caused any trouble and was always more than willing to help others. He was highly friendly, but he never fussed nor messed around. Frost was quiet and kept to himself when he was not helping anyone. He reminded Mr. Peterson of himself when he was young, and this was why he favored him most of all.

"I want to thank you again, Frost, for helping me take care of the children's presents," Mr. Peterson mentioned gratefully as he finished wrapping one of the more average-sized presents.

"Thank you, Mr. Avery, but there is no need. This what I do," Frost mumbled in thanks as he just taped down the last fold of wrapping paper for a rather large box.

Mr. Peterson smiled as he grabbed another present from the pile next to them, "You know, L would be proud of you. I only knew him for a short time, but when I did, he was about your age."

Frost's red eyes glowed at the name of L, but he didn't let the headmaster see his expression, so he closed his eyes and smiled, "So, what about the current L." He continued wrapping presents.

"Oh, I didn't know much about him, but he, too, left the orphanage at about your age. He was more intelligent than L, but he didn't have many friends and wasn't as kind as him. Nonetheless, he was a bright boy," Mr. Peterson answered.

Frost opened his eyes, but avoided looking at the headmaster, "What was his name?" he asked politely.

Mr. Peterson stopped for a second and looked up at the ceiling, "Hmm... I believe they called him... Near. Yes, I believe that was it."

Frost didn't say anything more after that. He did not know much about this Near, but he certainly recognized the name from somewhere. _Why do I know that name? I never met him, so how could... maybe..._, he began to have suspicions, but he avoided thinking much about it. _No, it's probably simply coincidence_, he convinced himself.

--

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 10:20 AM

Frost sat outside on the snow-covered steps of the Wammy House while the other orphans were at play. He watched then with his head in his hands. Frost always wore his white coat with a large, fur-trimmed hood to protect him from the bright light that emanated from the sun, even on days when the sun was hidden in the clouds. It couldn't be bulky either because he had to wear it whenever he went outside. Other than that, he usually wore any sort of jeans he could find and a pair of white sneakers that looked like that had chewed up and spat out. His usual attire did not matter to him much.

As he watched the children, something in the sky caught his eye. Something white was falling from the sky. Had none of the other orphans noticed this falling object? It did not appear to be snow, as it looked much larger. The objects smacked the cold blanket of snow with a crack. Frost was far too curious to not find out what this object was. He looked at the other children, but they didn't seem to notice it.

The object seemed to glow on the blanket of snow. Frost picked it up to get a better look. But to his surprise, it was none other than a notebook. A white notebook had fallen from the sky? He looked up at the gray, cloudy sky once again, and then back to the thin notebook in his pale hand.

"Death Note," he read the black lettering in confusion, "as in... a 'notebook of death'?" Frost looked up at the sky for one more look, but there was nothing. He flipped open the front page of the notebook gently.

--

_**This Death Note is able to prevent the deaths of those who are to be murdered by writing their name in the contents of this notebook.**_


	2. Testing

**II**

Frost was always a special child, but he never knew his parents. The current headmaster, Mr. Peterson, did not know them either, as the previous headmaster was the one in charge back then...

From what is known, Frost was born on December 22, 1993 at exactly 11:59 PM. He has no known living relatives. He holds the obvious signs of albinism, as he has no pigmentation in his eyes, causing them to be red; there is some, but little pigmentation in his skin, causing him to appear pale; there is also white in his hair from loss of pigmentation; he is also somewhat sensitive to sunlight. He is luckier than some albino people, as sunlight only causes him irritated sensations all around exposed parts of his body, but nothing more; sudden change in lighting, however, does not effect him in any way. Therefore, he has only been considered "half-albino".

As Frost became older, the kids teased him less and less significantly because he proved to be such a friendly, helpful person. Frost was never one to argue and he never got into fights. He always wished to make peace with others and gave great advice. However, when people weren't in need, Frost kept to himself. He read books and observed things. One thing that always fascinated him was snow. When he was about six-years-old, he made a snowball, put it in a container, and placed it in the freezer for year claiming that it was his "best friend".

Frost, nonetheless, has always looked for his family. He believed, truly, that they were out there... somewhere...

--

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 10:50 AM

Frost hid himself in one of the many sleeping quarters with the notebook still tightly in his clutches. His unblinking red eyes scanned the room for anyone, but not a soul was in that room. He heaved a sigh of relief and walked over with a light step to the nearest bed next to him and opened the contents of the notebook. He flipped through the pages, as if hoping to see something amazing hop out its contents, but there was nothing but blank, lined pages. It seemed like a normal, white notebook. Frost went back to the cover and starred at it for a moment with curiosity and confusion. He flipped open the cover to see a white page with black-lettered instructions.

"Let's see... 'how to use'," Frost read carefully. "'This Death Note is able to prevent the death of those who are to be murdered by writing their name in the contents of this notebook. The prevention of the murder, if not specified, will become randomly coincidental after 20 seconds of the person's name being written. Instructions, if written, should be written in the next 3 minutes and 20 seconds after the person's name has been written. The context must be reasonable to the act being committed and must not be impossible. Otherwise, the prevention will instead become coincidental to the event'."

Frost starred down at the notebook for one last, short moment before closing it. _Even if this were real, how would I do such a thing? I would need to see a murder take place with my own eyes_, he thought to himself. _And if it's murder, then how am I supposed to-_ But his thoughts came to a halt as he heard a screech come from outside. Frost rushed to the window and tried to get a view of the street below. An incoming car had struck one of the orphans. It was Axel Godwin, a.k.a. Arc, one of the eldest of the orphans at the Wammy House along with Frost. Apparently, from what he could get a glimpse of, the car struck the boy and caused him to flip over the car and strike his head to the pavement. There was a blood pool from what he could see.

_This my chance to prove if this is real_, he thought hysterically. Quickly, he rushed down the hall to the study and headed for a nearby desk. With a pen in one hand and the notebook in the other, he viciously wrote down the name of the orphan. _Axel... Godwin... Gets up from pavement and survives accident to be rushed to the hospital, where his wounds are attended to immediately._

When he finished, he rushed downstairs and headed outside to see what had happened. _This may have been the most ironic timing to check this notebook out, but if it works..._ He thrust open the front doors to be sent out to the front steps. He leapt over the front steps of the Wammy House to see what he could not believe.

Arc had survived the blow! Frost was able to see Arc get up woozily from the street and wobble his way over to Mr. Peterson, who was already outside before Frost. Mr. Peterson hastily hugged Arc and checked his wound. _I... no, an ambulance has to be here in order for the notebook to have worked_, he thought. But, an ambulance did, in fact, arrive... immediately.

_Could it be...? This notebook... really works?_ Frost thought with his mouth agape in confusion and awe. His hands trembled as the ambulance loaded up Arc into the back. He slowly lifted up the Death Note and a red gleam sparkled in his crimson eyes. _No, this isn't a notebook of death..._

_This is a notebook... of hope._

--

_**The prevention of the murder, if not specified, will become randomly coincidental after 20 seconds of the person's name being written.**_

_**Instructions, if written, should be written in the next 3 minutes and 20 seconds after the person's name has been written. The context must be reasonable to the act being committed and must not be impossible. Otherwise, the prevention will instead become coincidental to the event.**_

_**This Death Note is the only item in all of known space, including the Shinigami Realm, that can prevent a death written in another Death Note.**_


	3. Beginning

**III**

The Shinigami Realm

"Ryuk… what is… that?" Sidoh, a beastly-looking, many-armed shinigami with a white, tattered cloak, asked Ryuk, a dark-figured shinigami with black feathers sticking out from his shoulders, who was sitting upon a large boulder; one of the many in the barren Shinigami Realm.

Ryuk's large yellow eyes were fixed on the sky above as he answered, "It appeared ever since the King left."

Sidoh looked at Ryuk dumbfounded, "Wha-what do you mean by 'left'?"

Ryuk grinned slightly and then tilted his head down towards Sidoh, "He's dead, Sidoh."

Sidoh was purely astonished. His small, toothy mouth held agape, "D-dead?! No, not the King! How could he-?!"

"He broke his own rules."

Sidoh stopped with his eyes wide, "What…?!"

Ryuk chuckled lightly with a smirk, "You heard me. Now he's in the Human World, looking for someone he can trust."

"Why can't he trust any of us; his own shinigami brethren?!"

"The shinigami are turning against him, Sidoh. Ever since the Angels appeared, he's feared for his life. Now," Ryuk sighed lifting his hand up to the sky, "look what they've done."

Sidoh turned his cloaked head to the dark sky above. A large, negative sphere floated up above; inverting the sky. Flashes of inversion screamed out of the sphere as small domes, lighting the sky. Inverted lightning crashed down on the Shinigami Realm with cries of terror. The clouds churned viciously. Black angel wings sprouted out from the sphere of terror. Black fire reigned over the deserts. It was madness…

"Wh-who are these 'Angels'?" Sidoh asked hesitantly.

Ryuk's grin was lost and a shadow was cast over his face as he spoke, "The Angels… are the shinigami the King cast out."

--

Wednesday, December 26, 2012 9:45 AM

The glow of monitors glittered the room large room with luminescence. Other than that, there was but darkness. This did not associate with silence; however, as a boy in white with long, white hair was playing Guitar Hero on one of the monitors. He thrashed at the buttons with ease, not missing a beat.

A tall, muscular man with short, orange hair entered the room with a proud step while wearing a blue suit and a red tie. He held in his hands a set of documents that were classified as "top secret". He was seeking this boy, and he had found him.

"Normally, I'd see you playing with toys. What changed you to video games?" the tall man asked comfortably.

"I've gotten older, Commander Rester," the boy answered irritably, still concentrating on the song he was playing. "Why have you come?"

"The FBI has found something… rather suspicious," Rester answered, pulling out the documents from their contained envelope.

"Something so suspicious that you have to notify me personally?" the boy asked as he completed the song he was playing on "expert" level.

"Yes, in fact, you and I have dealt with this… 'problem' before," Rester replied gravely.

"You mean Kira… correct, Commander?"

"Yes, I do, Near."

"Well… then, I guess I will have to get involved," Near answered, turning around to face Commander Rester.

--

_**If written in the instructions of the prevention of that person's murder, that person is permitted to kill their attacker.**_


	4. Release

IV

Around midnight on the same day that Frost first experimented with his "special" Death Note, Arc, the boy he had saved from a car accident, was sent back to the orphanage with only minor bruising. This had not completely proven Frost's theory about the white "miracle" notebook, but the fact that Arc had made out toppling over top of a car and onto the pavement head-first with only bruises only strengthened this.

Meanwhile, two days later, Commander Rester, a.k.a. Anthony Carter, had informed Near that various people around the world had been killed by heart attacks. Realizing the resemblance to the Kira incident, Near sought out the help of the former SPK members, but even with their valiant skills, the new L knew that there was one kind of help who could not obtain anywhere else…

--

Thursday, December 27, 2012 12:00 PM

The yells and cries of the prison were far harsher than before. Many were preying on weaker inmates, some had gone insane, others had only but to bide their time with talk or sleep. The prison cells were dirty and rotten. The prisoners were just so as well. But, on this day, things didn't seem… quite right. All of the prisoners held this in common. It was the only feeling. It was cold; cold as death. It hung in the air like a savage beast awaiting its prey.

At the end of the hallway of cells was a single cell blocked off from the other. There was one, and only one, prisoner inside. The presence of death hung over him. His unkempt, long, pitch-black hair hung over his blindfolded eyes. A wore the classic, orange prison garments. His hands were handcuffed behind his back. He sat in the corner of the darkest cell of all. This man did not deserve light.

The creaking of the prison door could be heard at the other end of the hall. Footsteps followed in the cries for freedom. The prisoner of the darkest cell could not see, but he could hear the footsteps stop.

"Here he is: Teru Mikami. He hasn't changed since you last threw him in here," a voice explained from the other side of the bars. The blindfolded prisoner could distinguish this as the guard who originally put him in this dark, dismal prison cell. "You sure you want to see him?" the guard asked cautiously.

"Yes," another voice answered calmly. The prisoner recognized that voice. It was the cold, emotionless voice of the boy who killed his god. It was Near.

The prisoner's blindfold was immediately whipped off from his eyes. Although dark, to see anything stunned his eyes. After two years of seeing nothing but darkness. Red filled his vision. _I can still see their names…!_ The prisoner thought with his eyes wide with surprise. _Nate River… Anthony Carter… yes, I still have the power!_

"Greetings, Mikami," Near greeted coldly. Mikami's blood-red Shinigami Eyes swerved over to Near. He was older now, with his hair lengthened and he was taller. But, he still held a strong resemblance to his younger, former self.

_I can still kill him!_ Mikami rushed at Near with all of his emotion taking over his actions. The guard and Commander Rester grabbed Mikami and pinned him against the back, stone wall; Near had not even flinched.

"Why are you here?!" Mikami roared madly. "What have you to take from me _this_ time?!"

"I have come to free you," Near answered calmly.

Mikami stopped attempting escape the clutches of his captors and looked at Near with complete and utter confusion, but emotion began to fluster him yet again, "You took my only beliefs away from me. You killed my god and made him beg like scum! I'd rather be in this fucking cell than be seen outside!"

Near looked indifferent, "I do not care what becomes of you or what I did to you. Light Yagami is dead and that's that. All I need is your cooperation. Then, you may do whatever you wish yourself-"

"YOU TOOK _EVERYTHING_ FROM ME! WHY THE FUCK WOULD I HELP _YOU_?!" Mikami raged, using all of his might to attempt to escape the two officers.

"He's not going to negotiate, Near. It's hopeless," Commander Rester warned, struggling to hold Mikami down.

Near sighed and pulled out a pistol from his back pocket. Both the guard and Rester looked stunned. Mikami was only enraged and began to laugh, "I don't care what you do to me! KILL ME IF YOU WANT-!"

Mikami was stopped cold when Near shot a bullet extraordinarily close to Mikami's left eye, which almost shot Commander Rester in the face if he had been any closer to him, "Mikami, I'll give you one last chance to cooperate. Either you help Commander Rester and me, or I blow your eyes clean out of your head. They're the last gifts you have left from your 'god'. Do you wish to live out your life in a cushioned room with nothing left of Kira?"

Mikami hung his head in acceptance and no longer fought back, "Please… don't destroy these eyes... they're all I have left."

Near put away the pistol into his back pocket, "We won't as long as you help us with an investigation of ours."

Mikami looked up at Near with just his eyes, "Very well… what is it you need of me," he replied weakly.

"We've had reports of heart attacks from around the world all at about similar times and some even simultaneously," Near explained, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his white pants. "I haven't seen anything like this before. Back with the Kira incident, as you well know, there were only a total of two notebooks involved: Light Yagami's and yours. But, this could be potentially worse. However, we won't know unless we have you… and your eyes.

"You may be wondering why you still have your Shinigami Eyes, right? Well, that can be answered simply because we never burned one of the notebooks: your notebook," Near continued.

Mikami's eyes went wide with opportunity, "You… have a notebook?"

Near understood what he wanted, but would never let him have it, "Yes, we only burned one so it would seem like both were destroyed. We told you that lie so you would never attempt to escape prison and go looking for us."

With that said, Mikami narrowed his eyes at Near. _Dammit! He knew that I would go looking for the notebook if I had known about it. He kept my notebook in case he needed to find another potential Kira… just like now. He knew I had the Shinigami Eyes as well, so he would keep the notebook and threaten my eyes to get me to work with him in finding…Oh, very clever. This is why I never had the death sentence._

"Seeing as I have no other choice right now, I suppose I will have to join your investigation. I wouldn't want these eyes to go to waste… now would I?" Mikami asked rhetorically, widening his eyes and starring down Near.

"Very good, Mikami; I was hoping it would come to an agreement," Near replied with a smile on his pale face. Turning to the guard, "You may escort Mr. Mikami out of this prison."

Commander Rester let go of Mikami and the guard led the former Kira culprit out of his prison cell. Rester looked at Near with a cautious look in his eye.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Near? To let that Kira convict outside… what if he got a hold of the notebook?" Rester asked with stern concern.

"I'm quite sure about this, Commander. Mikami will be of great help to our investigation," Near answered, ending it with a sigh, "but, I just wish that we would never have to face another incident like that of the past."

"Don't you think you're just being paranoid?"

"No, I'm just being very skeptical about this situation. Commander, we _cannot_ let anyone but the SPK and Mikami to know about our current investigation. If the public hears that Kira may have returned," Near's eyes had a shadow cast over them, "well, it would be mass hysteria… Let's just pray that I'm simply paranoid."

--

_**If a person's lifespan is at zero, they cannot be saved by this Death Note, even if their name is written and instructions are applied.**_

_**Like a normal Death Note, any pieces torn from this Death Note's pages will still hold the same effects. As well, any sort of writing utensil or other medium (blood, cosmetics, etc.) will work for writing down names and instructions.**_


	5. Realization

V

Thursday, December 27, 2012 11:59 PM

Frost sat at a nearby window as it snowed outside. His red eyes starred out into the darkness. He looked to his left to see if any of the orphans were awake. When all of them appeared to be sleeping, Frost swiped out his white Death Note from his back pocket. Although this Death Note had an astounding ability to prevent murders, it was almost particularly useless. When would he be near a murder in order to save somebody? Besides, would he be able to save them in time? Frost simply sighed and walked out of the bedroom while all of the other orphans slept comfortably.

Frost entered the dark hallway with the white notebook. But, a slight burning sensation could be felt in his hand. Not anticipating it, Frost yelped and threw the notebook down onto the ground before him. Strangely, it was glowing ominously in a white aura. It was like that of when he had first discovered the notebook. But, as he wondered what it might mean, Frost felt an air as cold as death pass through him. He felt like he was being watched...

Frost looked up hesitantly, not sure he wanted to look down the other end of the hallway. But, he did, and he was not too proud about it. At the other end of the black hall was the light of a single window. What that window showed him... was a ghastly blob with many eyes; both large and small. White tentacles sprouted out from underneath it as the beast's various eyes all starred darkly at him with a monstrous power that seemed to suck the life out of Frost. _What... is that?_ Frost thought with a terrified look on his face. It was unlike anything he had seen before... and it kept starring at him like it wanted to eat him!

Frost grabbed the notebook and ran for it down the hallway behind him. The beast sprouted four skeletal wings from its gelatin-like mass and flew after him. Frost rushed downstairs and headed straight outside, barging out through the front doors. He immediately leapt out; bounding over top of the front steps and landed headlong out onto the snow. He looked towards the front door hastily to see if the beast was still after him, but when he thought he lost it, it faded in through the doorway.

Frost's eyes widened in fear and he picked himself up without even seeing what was behind him. His attempt to run was in vain, as when he turned around, more beasts were behind him! They all appeared differently, but their statures were all the same: bent over with long, lanky arms. They all starred down on him, and he was in an immense state of shock. He thought he was about to have a heart attack. Thinking he was going to go completely insane, the darkness enveloped him. He fainted on the cold ground, terrified out of his right mind.

--

The Shinigami Realm

Frost opened his eyes slowly. His vision was blurred, and it kept fading in and out constantly. Instantly, he knew he wasn't at the Wammy House anymore. He wasn't anywhere he recognized. _This has to be a dream_, he thought as he observed his barren surroundings. There was nothing but skeletal structures, ruined buildings, rocks and sand. It was a complete and utter wasteland. Then, a dismal prospect struck Frost. _Am I... dead?_ he asked himself.

"You aren't dead, kid," a voice answered, as if reading his thoughts.

The beasts from before began to approach him yet again. He backed away from them, but they kept coming closer. He could not escape these things, but what did they want? Did they want Frost, or perhaps...

The gelatin-like beast with the many eyes and tentacles approached Frost yet again, "We are Shinigami; gods of death. We have come to claim that notebook you carry."

Frost looked down at his right hand. It was still clutching the white notebook. He picked it up and starred at it for a moment before handing it to the beast, "Fine, then take it. This thing has scared the hell out me already. I don't want it."

The Shinigami was hesitant to accept such a reply. She had expected a fight out of Frost for the notebook, but she had not expected _this_.

"Why would you give up such an item so easily?" the Shinigami asked curiously.

Frost was confused at first and then looked at the notebook one more time, "Well," he answered as he starred down at the white notebook in his hands, "not only did it bring... Shinigami, it's also useless! Preventing murders is great and all, but I would have to see it happen or be there while one was happening. I can't save anyone with this."

The Shinigami starred at him blankly. The other Shinigami looked confused at such a reply. One of the Shinigami snickered and laughed at this. All of the others looked at him like he were insane. A black Shinigami with feathered shoulders and a large set of eyes stepped forward.

"I told you all that the old man was weak. He turned himself into a useless notebook that saves people!" the black Shinigami laughed. "What this boy needs," the Shinigami pulled out a black notebook identical to the white one, "is the _other_ one."

Frost was puzzled, "What 'other' notebook?"

"Ryuk, you can't possibly be serious-" the gelatin Shinigami argued before being interrupted.

"Why do you think the King would have sent himself down to the Human World, Nu?!" Ryuk yelled at the gelatin Shinigami. "He can't trust us! He couldn't even trust you. He made sure to turn himself into a useless notebook so that he could find the one, _good-hearted_ human that wouldn't throw it away! How else do you think we were able to transport this human up to our realm?!"

Nu began to add this up and an ominous look crossed her eyes, "He did it... so that he could destroy the Angels."

Ryuk grinned and turned around, handing the black notebook to Frost, "I'm not one to give speeches much, so go on and take it, kid."

Frost hesitantly took it. Was something special supposed to happen? Were they supposed to merge? No, in fact, nothing happened of the like. However, a faint glow could be seen from both of them. Even so, he didn't quite understand the meaning of all this. Was he _chosen_ by these Shinigami... to _save_ them?

"Doesn't it make sense to you all? Both of these notebooks together could be the key to our salvation, as well as the Human World's. This kid can defeat the Angels!" Ryuk preached valiantly.

One Shinigami spoke up, however, "Ryuk, how is he supposed to defeat the Angels if _we_ can't be killed by Death Notes?"

Nu spoke up to answer this, "It's because the Angels are corrupt and were cast out by the Shinigami King! And where do you think he banished them to?"

Realization erupted from the group of Shinigami. The Angels were not cast out simply from the other Shinigami, but they were cast out... to become human!

"Yes, I'm sure you all get it now!" Ryuk replied rhetorically. "The Angels are truly... humans!"

"But, how come we cannot use our Death Notes on them?!" one Shinigami asked, and many agreed. "Why don't we just find them and get it over with?"

"Don't you know?" Nu answered. "Not even Shinigami can kill others with Death Notes in their possession! And if we did, we would be only doing ourselves in. If we killed them without our Death Notes, and because they are now technically humans, we would die and not even go into Mu (Nothingness)!"

Frost understood what was going on. He was to kill these "Angels" and stop them from, supposedly, killing the other Shinigami. How he was supposed to find them and accomplish that, he did not quite yet know. However, it would be his utmost duty to do this for the Shinigami, no matter what the cost. For he knew that life could not happen without death.

--

**_This Death Note is the only item capable of killing those with a Death Note, including Shinigami. However, this can only be done if a death is taking place that includes a murder or is responsible because of murder._**

**_A regular Death Note can be used to cause a murder to happen, and then this Death Note (the Shinigami King's notebook) can be used to prevent the death of that who was to be murdered, just as long as the said person is not already dead._**

**_Others can use a Death Note of any kind without necessarily owning it. This can include obtaining the entire Death Note itself._**


	6. 911

VI

Friday, December 28, 2012 5:30 PM

Frost watched the children play out for the afternoon in the snow. He watched from the window as the fun outside continued. Too much was going through his mind all at once. _Shinigami... Death Notes... Angels... What kind of crap have I gotten myself into?_ he thought to himself. He proved to himself that he wasn't crazy, as he walked over to his bed and lifted up his mattress, which hid both the white and black notebooks. He understood the meaning of the notebooks; why he had two instead of just the one. Those with Death Notes cannot kill others with Death Notes simply with a Death Note. They would have to kill them by some other means. He would use the black Death Note to write down the name of someone. He would then prevent the death of that person, in case he didn't want them dead, and then control them to kill one of the Angels. He had to do this because normal, black Death Notes cannot control a person to kill another person.

Frost couldn't help but feel bad. Ever since he obtained the Shinigami King's notebook, things have been happening all over the Wammy House, especially to him. Nonetheless, if the Angels found out about him, they could threaten the other orphans, or even Mr. Peterson, to get their hands on the white notebook. However, he soon dismissed this idea. _Why would the Angels want the Shinigami King's notebook at all?_ he asked himself. Still, he felt strange that he could ever think about anything so much like this.

Frost sighed and continued to watch the children outside. He was hoping that today would just be a normal day. He didn't want anything to happen today that would get him uptight about the notebooks.

--

Friday, December 28, 2012 5:55 PM

"So, Ryuk, you aren't going to tell me anything about this white notebook?"

"No, I can't even if I wanted to. Although the Shinigami King is in that notebook, he still holds his power. I would be receive the Extreme Level punishment and so would you," Ryuk answered slyly.

"Except that it's at the Wammy House?"

"Yes, but good luck finding out which one of those kids has it!" Ryuk replied without a care.

"Nonetheless, I'll just go by this old book I found. Many of these children should still be there, right?"

"I would guess so. That's a pretty recent book. How did you get it?" the Shinigami asked curiously.

"I got it off of an old friend. He has no idea what I'm planning to do with it, though. Plus, since all of their names are right here, all I have to do is write every single one down. Whichever one of them isn't dead will be the one with the Shinigami King's notebook!"

--

Friday, December 28, 2012 6:00 PM

Frost continued to watch outside. The afternoon sun held an unusual beauty today, as it glowed a golden-orange with a bronze outline in the slightly clear sky. He never realized that his day was about to be ruined by the most horrible event he could possibly imagine...

A younger boy outside stopped playing with a ball and instantly dropped to his knees while clutching his heart in what appeared to be agony. At first, Frost assumed the kid was just playing, but he never got back up. The other orphans swarmed around him in horror. Frost was confused as to what was happening, but he could see one of the children kneeling next to the younger boy. It was a little girl who was crying over his body. However, in an instant, she, too, was clutching her heart in pain and fell over the boy's body. Both the boy and girl had heart attacks.

Frost's crimson eyes grew wide with fear and his heart skipped a beat. An older child was now clutching his chest and fell over. He stood up and watched as one-by-one, the children were having heart attacks. Frost knew what was happening. This couldn't have been coincidence. _The... the Angels must have found me!_ he thought. He rushed over to his mattress and flopped it over hurriedly. He grabbed the white notebook and rushed to the window yet again. More bodies were on the pile now. Frost grabbed a pen that he attached to the notebook just for situations such as this and began to instantly write their names, starting with the newest heart attack. He reasoned that those who already had heart attacks were already dead. Every time he wrote a name down, that orphans would begin to stand up clutching their heart in pain, but more importantly, they were alive. This made Frost wonder why Mr. Peterson hadn't called a hospital. Surely he would have noticed this... unless...

After writing every name down that he could possibly save, Frost ran as fast as he could out of the bedroom and out into the hall. He sprinted down the hall, stumbling a few times on the carpet underneath him. _Please... let me make it in time!_ he thought with the white notebook tightly grasped in his left hand. He bounded downstairs and nearly skipped the last three steps, but he tripped on the last step and fell to the ground with a loud thud. He got up as if it hadn't happened and rushed to the study. _Avery... Peterson... III..._ he wrote down with his pen in hand. He didn't know if anything had happened to Mr. Peterson, but he couldn't be sure.

Upon making it to Mr. Peterson's study, he found him sprawled out on the floor. Frost leapt to Mr. Peterson's side, not sure if he was alive or dead. Mr. Peterson wheezed as he breathed and very little air came out of him. He was alive, but not in a good state.

"Frost... Frost, is that you?" Mr. Peterson asked breathlessly, his eyes barely open.

"Yes, it's me Mr. Peterson, are you alright?" Frost cried, with tears filling his red eyes.

"My boy... I think... I am going to die-"

"Don't say that!" Frost yelped in horror.

"It is alright... I am an old man. I'd have to die sometime," Mr. Peterson smiled as best as he could. "How are the other orphans?"

"They all had heart attacks... Some of them are dead. Something's happening Mr. Peterson, and I think it involves me... and _this_," Frost explained lightly as bright tears of anguish and sadness fell down his pale face. He showed the headmaster the white notebook in his hand.

"What's this?"

"A notebook that can prevent murders... I think someone's killing everyone at the Wammy House... for this," Frost answered tearfully.

"Hmmm... Well... I always knew you were special, Frost."

"But, it doesn't seem to be working on you!"

"Maybe... it's because... I am supposed to die now. I am at the end of my rope, Frost... Please, look after the other children..." Mr. Peterson gave his last breath. He died right there, realizing the only kind of death that the Shinigami King's notebook couldn't prevent: an immanent one.

Frost was awe-stricken for a moment, but it wasn't very long before he wiped away the tears and stood up before the headmaster's body, "May you rest in peace, Avery Peterson, III," he recited. A crimson gleam crossed his eyes as he starred down at the body. Death was held in that gleam. "Your killer will be found."

Spotting a telephone on Mr. Peterson's desk, Frost immediately dialed 911. He didn't want anymore deaths to occur in this orphanage. From now on, to him, it was his duty to find the killer and bring him to justice.

--

**_A person whose name is written in this Death Note can kill more than one person if written in the instructions._**

**_If a person is written in this Death Note to do anything, including killing other people, they are completely aware of their actions but cannot do anything to stop what they are doing or about to do._**

**_This Death Note cannot bring people back to life._**


	7. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Greetings to everyone who has read _Death Note: HOD_ thus far! Although there have not been many reviews, I still wish to continue the story due to what I have to enhance the plot. As of the previous chapter, "911", Near is suspicious of a new Kira and if it is one, single person or possibly more. Therefore, Near has successfully obtained the unwilling help of Teru Mikami, who was publicly believed dead as of February 7, 2010; ten days after the death of Light Yagami, a.k.a. Kira. Meanwhile, many of the children at the Wammy House have died, as well as headmaster Avery Peterson, III, and Frost wishes to seek out his revenge with the help of the Shinigami King's white Death Note and a normal, black Death Note.

I fear people may have been wondering why my chapters are so short. I have an explanation for that. You see, I wanted the readers to imagine that they were reading a manga version of this story, and I also reasoned that if the chapters were too long, I would lose the reader's attention. Also, as a benefit for me, I can create chapters faster. However, I do realize quality is often better than quantity, therefore I think about what the chapter is going to be about before I write it. As well, I already have my ending in mind and it may very well surprise many of those who are reading this story.

Also, I wanted to keep the beginning especially short because I find the rest of the story far more interesting, so I didn't want readers to get bored. Nonetheless, I wanted a strong start to the story and didn't want it to be corrupt of any excessive human drama except for that which was needed to drive the story.

As we get through the story, you'll find that Frost can be a bit like Mello at times, as Frost will sometimes do things that are somewhat criminal things at times. Frost has good intentions, though, and only wishes to know the truth. After all, the Shinigami believe him to be their savior against the Angels, a group of beings that Frost knows nothing about. As well, I wanted Near to appear to be far more corrupt than before. No longer does he simply seem cold, but now he'll go to such lengths as shooting people to get where he wants to be going. I wanted video games to also represent that he is longer playful like that of a child with his toys, but instead he was vicious like that of a gamer.

Also, I know that many, if not all, readers known by now know everything that you would want to know about Near. Still, readers know almost nothing about Frost's "bond" with Near, his true past, and even what his real name is. Unfortunately, if I spilled the beans on any of these things, the plot would become much simpler.

There are also two things I want to clear up for those who think this is just another "Life Note" story. I made sure to cover all of the bases when clearing this up. First, the Angels are _not_ really Angels, but instead Shinigami that were banished to the Human World for the acts they had committed, including threatening the Shinigami King. Second, on the last chapter, the last rule states, "This Death Note cannot bring people back to life." Lastly, it is _still _called a Death Note.

With that out of the way, I hope to see more reviews in the near future. They really do help me feel the need to keep going. So, if you really do support _Death Note: HOD_, then say something!

- The Materialist


	8. Eyes

**VII**

Sunday, December 30, 2012 3:20 PM

A black limousine pulled up at the Wammy House that cold afternoon. Footsteps crunched in the snow to get a good look at who was arriving. The children wished to see who it was. The _surviving_ children, that was. Many of the orphans survived, but some, however, did not. Frost, their unknown savior, stood at the front of the pack of children with the hood of his white jacket up over his colorless, white face. He was curious, but kept himself expressionless. He knew who was coming to see him.

"L...?" he whispered under his breath.

A short boy with long, wild, white hair came climbing out from the back as his chauffer held the door open for him. He was wearing a white jacket as well with a matching pair of white dress pants. He even wore a pair of white dress shoes that were neatly polished and spiffed up. He looked like he had a million dollars in his pocket. However, a handheld device was in his hands; his thumbs were rocketing around the contraption like mad. A tall police officer was to his left. He had short, orange hair and was wearing a formal-looking black suit. His posture was as straight as a pole. The officer tapped the young man on the shoulder to signal him that they were at their meeting.

He looked up frustrated and sighed, "Fine, let's just get this over with." With that, he shoved the gaming device into his back pocket.

Together, the young man and the officer walked up to Frost, "Greetings," the boy whom Frost believed to be L greeted, "I am L, and this, here, is Commander Rester. I'm guessing you must be... Frost, correct?"

Frost was not surprised. Mr. Peterson had informed him that the new L was rather rude compared to the past L, "Yes," he answered, holding out his hand, "pleased to meet you."

"Charmed," L replied, shaking Frost's hand. "I understand the predicament you have gone through. Very sad."

_No, you don't understand_, Frost thought, but instead he asked, "Shall we go inside and talk about this?"

"Very well."

With that, Frost lead L and Commander Rester inside the Wammy House. Rester took L's coat and hung it up on a nearby hanger next to Frost's coat. The two guests followed Frost into what was once Mr. Peterson's study, but now the once glorious room now held a bitter sense. Death intoxicated the air. L and Rester sat in two wooden chairs, with L taking the left and Rester taking the right. Both chairs stood in front of the desk, which Frost sat in the headmaster's chair, a very pristine chair with royal-looking cushions attached. It was a throne fit for a king.

"Now that we're all settled," L began, "it appears that some of the orphans are missing. From what I've gathered, five of them died here and three more orphans died in the hospital. All of them had heart attacks all at once, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," Frost answered truthfully.

"Then, also from what I understand," L began to twirl the curls in his white hair with his finger, "Mr. Avery Peterson, III, the headmaster here, died of a heart attack as well; nearly at the same time as the orphans, correct?"

"Yes, that's right.

"Then he died?"

"Yes."

"But, what I don't understand is how all of them could have possibly gotten heart attacks simultaneously. Then, miraculously in fact, nearly all of the orphans were able to survive!" L's eyes starred straight on at Frost, unblinking. "So, tell me, how do _you_ think such an event could have happened?"

"I... I don't know," Frost answered, only half-lying.

"Also, how is it that you, of all the people of this orphanage, managed to survive without even the slightest of a heart attack?"

"Perhaps... I was just lucky."

"Hmph," L closed his eyes and snickered, "perhaps. Or, possibly," L's eyes shot open and starred down Frost yet again, "you may have had something to do with this-"

Frost folded his arms with a cold frown on his face and a stare that matched L's, "If you've got something to say, or possibly proof of that, then why don't you come out and show it to me?"

L and Frost were locked in each other's gazes for a moment before L closed his eyes again and sighed, "Very well. First of all, you may call me Near."

Frost's mouth twitched.

"Secondly, there have been reports of scattered heart attacks all over Japan, the U.S., here in the U.N., and in Canada. We are led to the assumption that this is similar to a case we had in the past. We, as well as the public, know it as the Kira Incident."

"Yes, I've heard of it. A young man was said to have been the cause of it all. He murdered many criminals from around the world in order to create 'a utopia' for mankind. Many Kira worshippers believed him to be a god."

"And what did you believe?" Near asked inquisitively.

"I believed he was just a man who wanted power over the people of the world. He couldn't have been a god, "Frost answered carefully, but just as truthfully. However, Frost had believed that Kira's intentions were good, but he had to agree that killing people to achieve those intentions was blasphemy.

Near starred at Frost for a moment longer, and then smiled, "It's a good thing you bothered to save the orphans."

"I bothered because they were like my family. I couldn't watch them die."

"Or, did you save them because you realized your mistake in taking innocent children's lives into your own hands-?"

"I would never do that! How could you even-" realization hit Frost. "I see... I'm the only suspect you have, isn't that right?"

Commander Rester was beginning to get uncomfortable, but Near was only getting started, "Hmph, so you noticed that? Very good, but not that hard."

The study was now silent. Frost heard a rustle outside and turned his head to his right. Squashed up against the window were a pile of kids looking in at an attempt to see what was going on. Frost sighed and closed the curtains on them. There were numerous whines outside as Frost walked back to the headmaster's seat.

"Just one more question," Near added. "Why are your eyes red?"

Frost looked at Near confused, "What do my eyes have to do with anything?"

"If you are the killer, you may have what are called 'Shinigami Eyes'. They allow those who have made a certain deal with a Shinigami to see the names and lifespans of anyone around them. For all we know, you could be seeing our real names right now," Near explained cautiously.

Frost smirked. _I didn't know about these "Shinigami Eyes", but I bet he's talking about Shinigami to get me to explain why my eyes are red. If I say something or look like I know about Shinigami, that'll make me a suspect of something I didn't do and he'll find my Death Notes_, he thought carefully. "I'm sorry," he replied slyly, "but... Shinigami? What are you talking about?"

"I see... so, you're saying you know nothing about 'Shinigami Eyes'?"

"Near, I really have no idea what you're talking about," Frost answered, careful not to mess up.

Near starred at Frost for a moment, "Hmph... then I guess we're done here."

Near stood up and walked out of the study, "Thank you for your time, Mr. Frost."

Commander Rester walked out with Near and the two headed outside and toward the limousine. Frost followed them out silently, putting his hood back over his head. The chauffer reappeared and opened Near's door for him.

"Hey," Frost called to Near, "if you ever need anything again, you know where to find me."

"Yes, I know," Near answered without looking at Frost.

Near pulled out his video game and immediately began to play it again as the car drove off. However, his mind was swimming with ideas. He wasn't through with Frost, not just yet. There was something quite suspicious about him during their conversation.

"Commander Rester," Near called to him.

"Yes, Near?"

"Let's keep a good eye on Mr. Frost and those orphans. I have a feeling that there is something being hidden there that he didn't tell us."

"Very well, I'll have Gevanni on it right away."

"Yes, Gevanni will be good for this. He can keep a steady eye on our suspect and find out what it is my brother is hiding. After all, he _did _like to play with things he couldn't understand."


	9. Questions, part 1

**This chapter is placed in two parts for the reason that both parts happen right after one another. For the sake of suspense, the second part will be released, not at the same time, but simply on the same day as this one. I also apologize that this chapter happened to be so short. The second, however, will be the longest chapter yet.**

**- The Materialist**

**--**

**VIII**

Sunday, December 30, 2012 4:00 PM

Frost sat in the headmaster's chair as he watched the children outside play. How he wished to be like them. Carefree and never thinking too much about their future. They just went along for the ride. Frost, however, was always different. Not because of his albinism, but simply because he didn't think like other children when he was their age. He didn't think of himself as more intelligent, but not more wise either. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He remembered Mr. Peterson's words of how he was always "special." What did he mean by that?

Frost's train of thought was interrupted when someone knocked on the door, "You may come in," he replied.

The door creaked open and Arc, the first boy he had ever saved with the Shinigami King's notebook, had entered the room. Arc was one of the "elder" orphans. In fact, next to Frost, he was the oldest. Arc had very frazzled long, chocolate-brown hair that ran down his neck. He had a pair of piercing, golden eyes as well. Arc was more muscularly built than Frost, but then again, Frost was always thin. He stood with a proud stance that was unlike the other children. Arc also happened to be quite stubborn.

"Frost..." he began, not so sure of himself, "the other orphans and I have been wondering. If Mr. Peterson's dead... well, who's going to become the new headmaster?"

Frost sighed. He had never really thought about the new headmaster, but, seeing as Frost had turned 18-years-old about a week ago, he only really had one option.

"Well, I suppose... it will have to be me," Frost answered assuredly.

Arc looked at Frost somewhat stunned, but understanding, "So, does that mean you're giving up the position of the new L-?"

"I don't know, Arc... but, for the sake of the children here, I guess I may be forced to."

"But, who would you give the title of L to?"

"Well, I'm not L yet, but..." Frost had been determined to be the successor to the L name after the previous L, whom he now knew was Near, and he had decided from the beginning who his own successor would be, "I would have to choose you, Arc."

Arc was stunned, but tried to hide it, "Me? Why me?"

"Arc, you're just as intelligent as I am. You have been my friend since we were kids, and I have always believed that. You've always been there for me, even through my albinism. Besides, you have the skills necessary. I can very well see that," Frost explained.

Arc smiled, "Well, I guess... I'll accept that then. I think it would be kind of cool to be the new L."

"Yeah, but aren't L yet-" Frost stopped when he turned to the window before him. The orphans outside seemed to have stopped playing and had gathered around something. Fearing another attack, Frost's heart stopped.

Frost immediately rushed out the door after grabbing his jacket with Arc following, not exactly understanding what was making Frost so uptight. The two opened up the frost doors and sprinted over the steps, with Arc completely leaping over the whole column. With no time to waste, Frost broke into the crowd with Arc chasing after him.

The snow rained softly on the orphans as gentle whispers ran like wildfire through the crowd. Frost stopped, and Arc asked after catching up to him, "Frost, what the hell is up with you?"

A few of the younger orphans huddled around what looked like a person. It was a girl who looked about Frost's age, a blanket was kept around her as she shook from the cold. The orphans nestled around her were attempting to keep her warm, for she looked nearly dead. It looked as if she was hiding behind the steps for a rather long time. Even her long, golden-brown hair seemed frozen stiff.

"We found her just a few minutes ago," one of the orphans explained as Frost kneeled down in front of the girl. "She didn't appear to be homeless... just, sort of, lost, you know? Like she had nowhere to go to."

Frost was glad that it hadn't been an attack, but he still didn't want this girl, whoever she was, to die, "C'mon, we need to get her inside," he ordered as he picked up the girl in his arms and rushed back up the steps; the orphans opened the doors for him as he made his way inside.

--

The Shinigami Realm

"Hey... hey, guys! The boy came through!" Sidoh, one of the Shinigami, cried out. "He found one!"

The other Shinigami began to come over to the portal that the one Shinigami had pointed out. Was it really true? Had an Angel been found? Many of the questions were teeming endlessly in their deathly heads as they flew over. After swarming together, Nu, the Shinigami who had found Frost, broke through the crowd and saw into the portal with her own many eyes. _So, he found an Angel... Frost found one. Will he kill her though?_ Nu thought triumphantly. _But, what seems stranger still is that... this Angel appears helpless? Why is she alone?_

--

_**The owner of this Death Note will always be the true owner and never forget their memories of it or any other Death Note they once held possession of, including this one.**_


	10. Questions, part 2

**IX**

Sunday, December 30, 2012 4:11 PM

Frost bolted upstairs with the orphans frantically following. Arc became lost in the crowd and couldn't keep up with Frost's speed. The hallways were soon cluttered with orphans, and there was the two big questions of "who was she" and "will she be okay." No one could answer these questions, not even Frost himself. On the way, Frost called for someone to turn up the heat and another person to bring some extra blankets. These orders were soon more or less fulfilled.

Frost, after entering the nearest bedroom to the staircase, laid the young woman down gently on the nearest bed. She was clearly unconscious, as her eyes were closed. The orphans began to shuffle blankets onto her body and hoped for the best. Frost even took off his own coat and laid it onto her. Who knows how long she had been sitting there in the cold? _Dear Lord... help her_, he thought anxiously.

Arc moved up to the front of the crowd after everyone began to calm down a bit, "I found this," Arc held up what looked like a dirty, thin, black notebook, "on her. Any idea what it could be?"

Frost stared at it and could've sworn his heart stopped. _A... Death Note...?_ He looked from the notebook to girl and back. _There's no way... _He looked again from the girl to the notebook. _There's simply NO freakin' way._ Frost swiped the notebook from Arc's clutches.

"Yeah, I'll take a look at it later," he replied.

Arc gave Frost a confused, but suspicious glance, "You alright?"

"Yeah... I'm fine, it just... seems weird, that's all," he answered, trying to bring himself back.

Arc looked at Frost for a moment, but then nodded in approval, "Yeah, gave me the creeps, too."

With that, Arc rallied up the orphans and pushed them back outside; moans and whines echoed from the group like a chorus of tuneless trolls. Meanwhile, Frost watched the girl with an unblinking eye. _This girl... can't be an Angel. How could I have found an Angel so fast?_ But, he let that theory to rest and simply continued to hope for the best. After all, it was just a theory.

--

Monday, December 31, 2012 1:30 AM

A moan could be heard from the bed near the door. Frost, sitting at his usual place by the window, heard it well and hurried over to the girl. As he kneeled at the edge of the bed, the girl's eyes began to open. At first, they were a blank, hazy gray, but as her eyes began to widen, they flashed on red immediately. The girl blinked and sighed in relief.

"Who... who are you?" she whispered softly.

"My name is Frost," he answered gratefully, but the girl shook her head in disagreement.

"That's not your name," she replied, correcting him.

Surprised, he began to understand why this girl's eyes may have turned red in the first place. _Shinigami Eyes_, he thought, piecing it together, _this must have been what Near was talking about._

"Fine, but here, we're not supposed to call people by their real names, alright?" he whispered back.

"Then... where am I?" she asked, scanning her eyes around the room.

"You're at an orphanage. Don't you remember?"

"I was just... looking for somewhere to stay. I didn't know this was an orphanage," the girl answered truthfully.

"Okay then... but, just tell me... what's your name?" he asked as politely as he could. _If I'm going to kill her or not, I should at least learn her name._

--

Monday, December 31, 2012 1:34 AM

"Alright, I've made it inside," answered a shadowed figure.

It was dark, so he held the advantage. He had infiltrated the Wammy House quite well, but then again, if the headmaster was dead, then all he would have to worry about were a bunch of kids. This assignment wouldn't be too hard after all.

"Good, Gevanni. Now, I need you to find Frost. You'll know him when you see him," replied the com-link microphone in his ear.

"Alright, but where exactly should he be?" asked Gevanni as he quietly shut the front doors.

"He should be in one of the bedrooms upstairs," buzzed the communicator.

Gevanni headed for the front staircase. Nothing in the mansion could hear him. He was more silent and careful than a mouse. He tip-toed into the dark hallway to his left where the bedrooms were. He checked to his left and then to his right to make sure he wasn't being watched or seen. He was the essence of silence. This was the great thing about stealth suits. Stealth suits were thin, black, robotic suits that were used by the military for stealth missions or when infiltration was needed. They held a cloaking device that would create a camouflaged space around them. The only defect was that, if looked at carefully, the space could be seen. Secondly, objects that they were holding could be seen as well, and the suit didn't nullify sounds.

Gevanni crept over to the bedroom to his right. A dim light could be seen in the corner of the room. He saw an albino young man and a girl under a hefty amount of blankets. The albino one _had_ to be Frost.

--

The girl began to get suspicious, but soon relaxed, "Alright... my name is Naomi Silver."

_I don't want to kill her, but... if it's for the good of the Shinigami Realm_, he thought as soon as he learned the name. Without noticing, he silently swiped out his black notebook from under the bed where Naomi lay. Unfortunately, Gevanni saw it clearly.

Gevanni turned around the corner and spoke into the com-link, "I've found it... Mikami. The notebook is, in fact, in Frost's possession."

"Good, now put on the visor. We can use that to find out Frost's real name!"

"But, wait a second," he replied, as he noticed a second notebook being pulled out as well, "It appears that he's getting a white notebook as well."

The com-link cracked, "KILL HIM AND GET THAT NOTEBOOK! GET THE WHITE NOTEBOOK!"

"But... Mikami, why must we-"

"YOU _WILL_ USE THAT DEATH NOTE YOU'RE CARRYING! _YOU WILL USE IT_!"

"V-very well... Mikami, sir," Gevanni replied hesitantly and pressed a button on his helmet to release a visor that would show whoever was on the other end what he was seeing.

Slowly, but swiftly, Gevanni looked straight into the room as he pulled out the Death Note he was, indeed, carrying. Unfortunately, if either of them looked close enough, they would see the Death Note mysteriously "floating", and it would give him away.

Naomi slowly turned her head to the other side, as she was still very tired. She wasn't in the best health, and it was in the middle of the night. However, as she turned her head, red flooded her vision.

_Stephen Loud_

"Gevanni..."

"Yes... Mikami, sir?"

"You will kill them both."

"What?!" he asked. This was his mistake. Now even Frost could tell there was someone there.

"KILL BOTH OF THEM!"

Scribbling immediately brought its presence boldly like a bolt of lightning. Naomi's eyes widened in fear. Frost saw the Death Note floating. He could tell that this meant their deaths.

"Frost! There's someone at the door!" Naomi voiced ominously.

_There's one, now for the girl's turn_, Gevanni thought as a smile began to spread on his face. _This is actually... kind of fun!_ As he wrote Naomi's name down, his smile became more and more twisted. He was enjoyed this rush. He was high off of it.

Unexpectedly, however, Frost lunged at Gevanni. The two of them crashed into the bedroom parallel to the one that Naomi and he were in. The cloaking unit on the suit diminished, and a psychotic Gevanni was unveiled. Frost, in a fit of adrenaline and complete rage, bashed his bony fist straight into Gevanni's face. Although his face was now a wreck, Gevanni continued to write down Naomi's name vigorously in his Death Note. _Yes... die, die... DIE!_

Another fist came lunging at Gevanni's face. Screams of complete horror followed as blood spewed from the spy's nose. Showing up out of nowhere, strong hands grappled both of Frost's arms and lifted him up from his intense fury. Little did he know, his own name was already written down. Suddenly, mortal agony struck Frost's own heart and he cried out in terror and frustration.

"NO! I'M NOT GONNA DIE! I CAN'T DIE TO THAT BOOK! I...won't! I... just... can't...lose...now," Frost wailed, but soon began to lose his speech as his words mixed together.

Frost flipped his head back to the room where he had come from. He saw the white notebook, the Shinigami King's Death Note, in the hands of Naomi. A pen was in her hands as she watched him die.

--

**_Anyone may use this Death Note._**


	11. Proof

**X**

Monday, December 31, 2012 7:00 AM

"Near," Commander Rester came in that morning after the second incident at the Wammy House, "we've gotten reports that Gevanni is... in the hospital now."

Near was playing a new Super Mario game on one of the monitors in front. He wasn't really paying attention, though, as the game was quite difficult and required almost his utmost attention and concentration. He had, however, learned of the second attack on the Wammy House, so it wasn't as if he was ignoring Rester.

Rester continued, although realizing Near's dedication to his video game, "It was believed that... well, Mikami was the one behind the scenes telling Gevanni to-"

"That wasn't Gevanni," Near answered robotically.

Rester looked surprised, "Wh-what do you mean? Haven't you seen the news, Near. They showed a picture of him. His name was Stephen Loud. It had to be Gevanni!"

"But, it wasn't," Near repeated calmly. "You know Gevanni's home phone number, correct? I bet you all of my video games that Gevanni's at home, eating a bowl Kix while watching the Today Show."

"O-okay," Rester agreed, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Gevanni's phone number. It rung several times before there was finally an answer.

"Hello?" It was Gevanni after all.

"Hello, Gevanni. Have you seen the news today about that man named Stephen Loud entering the Wammy House?" Rester was shocked that it had actually worked as Near planned.

"Yeah, I'm watching the Today Show right now. It's all over the news," Gevanni answered.

"Do you know him? Is he possibly related to you in anyway?"

"No, I've never met _this_ Stephen Loud once in my life. They revealed a photograph of him and he looked almost exactly like me."

"Alright, thank you Gevanni," Rester hung up his cell phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "Well, it seems you were right after all."

"To tell you the truth, Commander, I was only 50 sure that that would work," Near replied.

--

Mu (Nothingness)

Frost opened his eyes to a dreary whitespace. He could have guessed it easily. He was dead and the white notebook hadn't saved him. Images began to flash by in his head. Was this all to prove to him that he was dead? He didn't need it, or so he thought at first. At first, he began to believe he was seeing images of his past, but that wasn't what he was seeing. He saw the future. _War... nuclear winter... all life destroyed... could this really be the future of mankind?_ he thought in that single, never-ending whitespace.

Frost attempted to move, but he could not feel anything. Was he truly nothing as well? Was this all that happened to those who died? Was he not even allowed to see everyone who died before him and those after? Or was this place just that large and never-ending? He didn't know nor did he care. He was dead now, what could he do?

_Welcome, Frost. Welcome to pure nothingness._

It was an ominous voice. One that Frost could just tell was all knowing and forever the wisest of all. Frost tried to speak, but even that appeared to be lost to him. Was he allowed no freedoms in this place?

_The images you may or may not have seen before you were images, not of your world, but of another world. Your world is a far more peaceful place, despite what you might think of it. The world you saw images of was known as the First World._

_The 'First World'?_ Frost thought, wondering how such another world could have been so awful and treacherous, which he could tell simply from the images he had seen before him.

_You defended others with a righteous courage. You were helpful to those who need you. Your world still needs you, Frost._

Frost didn't quite understand what this voice implied, but because he couldn't speak, he couldn't even ask.

_I will give you another chance at life, Frost. But do not waste it, for you have a job to accomplish._

_But, what was the 'First World' called?_ he asked himself, but the voice, as thought reading his thoughts, answered.

_Altaiyu_

--

Monday, December 31, 2012 8:30 AM

"Mikami, I want to ask you a few questions concerning the incident last night," Near began.

Mikami looked drowsy and tired as it was. He had been forced to sleep in the SPK headquarters and he never had much to do but sleep. Although nearly a week ago Near had asked him to help him with this new case, he hadn't really done much of anything for that time except travel from Japan to the U.N. It was overall boring.

Mikami blinked, "I don't know what you're talking about Near."

"Late last night, a spy under the name of Stephen Loud infiltrated the Wammy House. One of the people there, a girl named Naomi Silver, accounted that Mr. Stephen Loud had said the name 'Mikami'," Near explained plainly.

Mikami began to understand everything now. He was remembering such an event.

"I... it was... it was all Mr. Gevanni's idea!" he exclaimed, as if suddenly going insane. "Yes, that's right. Mr. Gevanni told me to talk to somebody on a communications link. I did it... but, I was forced to do it!"

"You realize you had just confessed to a crime? Murder, in fact?" Rester replied sternly.

Mikami looked at Rester with a scared stare and then looked back to Near, "That... that boy d-died?! I didn't think..." he looked from Rester to Near again, "oh, no... I heard that he had been attacked by someone. That's what I heard on the com-link, so I assumed that the notebook... Oh, God!"

"What's the matter, Mikami? Afraid of what might happen to you now that you confessed?" Rester intimidated.

"Please, you've got to believe me! I was forced to do this! Mr. Gevanni gave the spy a notebook! He told me everything I had to say-"

"Well, it didn't seem that way from the playback we got of your voice off of the com-link. It seemed pretty important to_ you_."

Realizing he was now caught, Mikami starred at the two of them for a moment before knocking down his chair, and running over to the back wall, attempting to escape. However, the blank room had no exit except for the front entrance.

"Mikami, we aren't going to kill you," Near explained calmly. "We just want some answers. Did Gevanni tell you why he was doing this?"

Mikami began to calm down, "He... he said... that _you_ told him to," he replied, pointing directly at Near.

--

**No rules for now. Frost isn't truly dead, but he's sort of "spacing out." Altaiyu will also be of importance later.**

**- The Materialist**


	12. Truth

**All I can say is be prepared to keep an open mind about what goes on and what is said throughout this chapter. This chapter was the most difficult for me to write, only because I had so many ideas of what should happen. This turned out to be the best one, in my opinion.**

**- The Materialist**

--

**XI**

Monday, December 31, 2012 8:35 AM

Near didn't make a move. His expression didn't even change. He stared at Mikami with a watchful, examining eye. It was as if he was looking into Mikami's very soul. Even Commander Rester was not phased. Rester knew that Mikami had hardly any sanity left in him, so it would have been no surprise for him to blame Near when he was cornered for his own crime.

"Gevanni had been ordered to infiltrate the Wammy House. Here at the SPK, we are to use nearly any method to find what we're looking for," Rester explained bluntly.

"What Commander Rester says is true, Mikami, even if it was a bit crude," Near agreed.

"You may have gone off your rocker when following Gevanni's instructions," Rester continued.

"The notebook had tainted you and many other people in the past. You're no different than any Kira worshipper," Near followed in conclusion.

Mikami looked at the two in dismay, "But... but, I... wait, what if I tell you wh-what we discovered. Then, maybe... you'll put this whole thing aside, right?"

"It depends," the commander warned.

Mikami felt relieved and calmed down, walking over to his chair and picking it up off the floor and sat down, "I'm going to tell you everything, so listen up."

--

Monday, December 31, 2012 9:40 AM

Snow fell from the sky and laid itself down all over the frozen earth. The clouds were dark with an ominous, white glow. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed dangerously. The surrounding trees bent over from the wind, as if they were scared of the storm and were attempting to escape their deep roots. The children were all inside; frightened of the storm, as this was unlike any snowstorm they had seen. A few of younger ones even cried from distress.

Arc wasn't with them, however, as he sat down and kept watch of Frost's body. Lightning flashed behind him. He was vigilant of his friend, hoping that he would wake up. Nothing seemed to make much sense now that all of these people were trying to invade his home. In his cold hands, he held one of the black notebooks. They trembled and shook as a tear crossed his eyes; something that didn't often occur with a hardy young man like himself.

Lightning flashed yet again, and in that instant, Arc could feel a deathly presence shadowing him, "Who are you?" he asked without even turning his head.

"Very clever of you to know I was right behind you," a sly voice answered him. "So, you aren't scared of me?"

Arc turned around to see none other than a dark, feathered phantom behind him, "I'm Ryuk, a Shinigami, or 'death god', and that's actually my notebook you're carrying."

"Don't worry," Arc replied, smirking and turning towards the contents of the Death Note, "I've never told anyone, but..." a crimson flash appeared in his golden eyes, "I know all about Death Notes."

"Oh?" Ryuk asked, now quite interested.

"My father was killed by a Death Note, and my mother used a Death Note," Arc continued. "I had been scared of this thing ever since seeing it again. Frost never knew that I knew anything about it."

Ryuk smiled, "Oh, I see. So... you're the 'first' Angel?"

A shadow crossed Arc's eyes, "Altaiyar... cursed me and the other Angels," another tear began to fall, "to be forced to see what it was like to have people killed ruthlessly with a Death Note. He put us all in different scenarios, but the outcome was all the same!"

"You knew how dangerous Altaiyar could be, so why did you all defy him?" Ryuk asked curiously.

"We did it because of that!" Arc roared, and his voice had begun to shift to a demonic-like tone, but soon switched back to a more calm, human voice, "He created this world so that he could make us learn from our mistakes, but he ended up draining the Shinigami Realm even more!"

Ryuk only laughed at this, "Don't you get it? The old man sacrificed his being to create this world! You _destroyed_ Altaiyu! Then, you wished to suck the life out of this one!"

"Altaiyu and Altaiyar were and still are the same! They're weak, frail, old Shinigami who wanted to destroy everyone else so that they could greedily control their own world as they pleased!" Arc roared back in defiance. His human form was beginning to become frail as his anger rose. His Shinigami Eyes were now present as well.

Ryuk merely grunted, "I'm not gonna tell you how to think, but just know that Altaiyar created this world because all of us Shinigami needed it. Where did you think our Death Notes came from? Where does our survival come from? You Angels destroyed Altaiyu's world so selfishly, and yet you forgot one little detail: just like Altaiyu, Altaiyar, the _Shinigami King_, _is_ this world!"

Arc held a sly shadow over his face, "Well... I may not have told the other Angels that, but... at least, I knew that. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them!"

But, their argument was interrupted as Ryuk looked up. Arc turned around to see Naomi staring at him in horror. Her own Shinigami Eyes were looking at him with complete, disgusted realization. It felt as if her world had just came crumbling down in that instant. Her frazzled, somewhat-feathered, golden-brown hair covered her face. Her raggedy clothes felt larger as she felt smaller inside.

"Why... didn't you tell us?" Naomi whispered in a faded tone.

"Naomi, please..." Arc pleaded in false shame.

Suddenly, all of Naomi's emotion burst out of her, with tears raining from her eyes, she screamed at him, "WE BLINDLY DID AS YOU ASKED AND ALL THIS TIME WE'VE ONLY BEEN DESTROYING OURSELVES EVEN FURTHER?!"

"NAOMI, IF ALTAIYAR KNEW ABOUT ME KNOWING HE WOULDN'T HAVE JUST BANISHED US! INSTEAD HE WOULD HAVE SENT US ALL TO OBLIVION!" Arc blasted back at her.

"Do any of the others know?!" Naomi heaved through her grinding teeth.

"Fine, a few of the others do," Arc muttered. "They agreed with it already, and I wouldn't be surprised if they've told the others already."

Naomi's eyes were wide with unstoppable rage, "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"It's because I knew you'd get all emotionally over it, like right now, and would have told the Shinigami King," Arc answered calmly.

Naomi had thought about her next move ever since this conversation started. She instantly swiped out her Death Note and grabbed the pen off of the Shinigami King's notebook that was still in the back pocket of her torn up jeans. Without a second thought, she wrote his name down with full motive and determination to do so; she even stuffed her face in the book because she was so intent that she'd be successful.

"You can't kill me with that," Arc reminded with a smirk, but that was soon lost when he noticed Naomi pulling out the white notebook. _No... Altaiyar's notebook_, he thought.

Naomi's grin couldn't have been more twisted when she saw Arc's face when he noticed the notebook._ Axel... Godwin... Relinquishes ownership of the Death Note and does not attempt to stop his name from being written in the Death Note._ Even that would work. She was sure of it. Just as well, the deed was accomplished. In 20 seconds, not near enough time for him to react out of his state of shock, Arc was now reciting his dismissal of ownership and simply stood there as Naomi obtained her black Death Note yet again to write down his name.

--

_**After their death is prevented, it cannot be written in the instructions for the said person to commit suicide, whether it be directly or indirectly.**_


	13. Revival

**XII**

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 12:00 AM

A violent flash of lightning spewed from the sky. Upon crashing down, it felt as if the entire mansion had shaken. Each of the night-lights in every bedrooms, for the younger orphans, flickered on and off continuously. However, none of the sleeping orphans appeared to have noticed except one. It was a little boy, about seven-years-old, who woke up. Strangely, he was not restless, but a tired look in his eyes was undoubtedly apparent. The little orphan could not sleep in the storm, so he rubbed his beady, little, black eyes, grabbed his white teddy bear, and walked down the center of the beds to get to the hallway.

When the orphans reached up and creaked open the door, someone much older mumbled to him, "Why are you up in the middle of the night?"

"Huh?" the little boy pondered and walked over to none other than Frost's bed. "Mr. Frost... did you say something?!"

Frost blinked, and the little boy gasped in surprise, "Are you finally awake, Mr. Frost?"

Frost leaned up on his elbows and yawned, "Yes, Lawliet. I'm awake at last," he smiled back at the young boy.

The little Lawliet grinned in with a supreme pleasure, "I'll go tell Ms. Silver, okay?" he whispered, but before Frost could answer in reply, the little boy had pattered out the bedroom door. _It's good to be alive again_, he thought happily before he remembered the events that took place leading to his death.

Frost yawned again, not really wishing to think about it until morning. His stay at Mu had drained him. Although it had only been a day or so on Earth, it felt like nearly an eternity in Mu. He was just glad to be back at last.

"Alright, Lawliet... you better be telling the truth," a girl's voice warned drowsily.

"No, really! Mr. Frost is awake!" the little boy replied with excitement emanating from his high-pitched voice.

The two arrived at the bedroom where Frost had awakened. Frost was, indeed, still there as they had left him, but Frost had an unexpected surprise. Naomi looked almost completely different. Her hair was much different, in fact. Although the golden-brown color stayed the same, Naomi had bangs hanging down the sides of her face that were long enough to cover her eyes, but were only over them slightly. Also, her ears were completely covered by her flowing hair. The rest of it had stretched out behind her. Still, her hair wasn't without a wild, frazzled touch to it, but that only made her hair look that much better to Frost. As for what she was wearing was fairly simple. She wore a simple gray shirt that was rather large on her, as the shirt had slid down and revealed her entire left shoulder. After that were a large pair of gray shorts, and that was it. _Snap out of it, you fool!_ he thought.

"Hey," Frost greeted in surprise.

"Hey," Naomi greeted awkwardly back.

"Fancy seeing you here again. Kind of surprised that you didn't just leave," Frost continued, glad that she hadn't left after all. "Well, so what happened while I was out of it?" Frost asked curiously, looking from Lawliet to Naomi and back.

"Well, Arc thought you were dead... so he left the orphanage," Naomi explained, but this was a lie to cover up that she had killed him. "He still hasn't come back, so we guess he was sure in his decision."

"Oh," Frost accepted it, not realizing it was truly a lie. "I guess it must have been hard on him to see his friend die."

"Wait, Mr. Frost," Lawliet interrupted, "you... died?!"

"Yeah, but you won't find out about all that for a _long_ time," Frost toyed with him, a smile formed on his face.

"But, I wanna know about it! What was it like? How did it feel? Did it hurt at all?!" Lawliet asked so many questions that he thought he was about to become tongue-tied.

"Well, I can definitely tell you it doesn't hurt," Frost answered with a light chuckle. "Now, you better get back to bed, alright?"

"Okay," Lawliet agreed with a huge frown on his face. Frost watched him as he headed off to bed with a smile.

Afterwards, there was a long pause. Naomi still couldn't take the thoughts out of her head._ I killed Arc... now, I'm lying to his best friend... What should I do?_ she thought deeply to herself. It was Frost who broke the silence.

"Something troubling you, Naomi?"

Naomi wasn't sure whether she should tell him the truth or not, but thought it would be best for him to find out later, "No, I'm fine," she answered. "Well, I guess I'd better get going to bed, too."

"Alright then, I'm not much of a sleeper, so I'll be right here, alright?" he assured with a friendly smile.

Naomi quickly smiled back and left the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Frost turned over, away from the doorway. But, while he acted like he was asleep, he was thinking, _Arc couldn't have left. He's just... not that kind of person. He would have waited until the end for me to wake up. Naomi's obviously hiding something._ Frost quick took one last glance at the door behind him before turning over to think again. _Still, that look on her face before probably meant that it was riding on her conscience, so maybe I shouldn't bug her too much about it. If she's that guilty about whatever happened, then she must of done something to him._

But, those were his final thoughts before he finally succumbed to sleep for the first time in a long time...

--

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 12:05 AM

Near played back the tape over and over again, examing it for some kind of clue, "There's got to be something here that can explain..." that's when he caught himself. He had been up all night in search of proof of what Mikami had told him and Commander Rester. So far, he had only some of the evidence he needed with just the tape. Still, he was to take in as much as he could figure out about it before he moved on. So, he played it again, but only at a certain part:

_"KILL HIM AND GET THAT NOTEBOOK! GET THE WHITE NOTEBOOK!"_

_"But... Mikami, why must we-"_

_"YOU WILL USE THAT DEATH NOTE YOU'RE CARRYING! YOU WILL USE IT!"_

_If he's talking about the 'fake' Stephen Loud holding a notebook_, Near thought carefully. _Why is it that the notebook that the SPK was holding is still here?_ Indeed, as proof to himself, he was holding the notebook. The same notebook that had Ryuk appear standing behind him.

--

_**If written even 2 seconds after a person's death, there is still a 50 percent chance that the written person's death can be prevented.**_

_**Even if written in this Death Note, a person with severe wounds or has been delivered a mortal injury cannot have their death prevented because there would be no possibly way for them to survive. Heart attacks are the only exception, because people can survive from them in a reasonable fashion.**_


	14. Notebooks

**XIII**

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 2:10 PM

The wind in the air was a cold one, but this was no surprise for such a winter. It wasn't the worst, but it was chilly compared to winters of the past. The orphans had decided to play inside for their last day of winter vacation before school began yet again. The two fireplaces in the study and the downstairs living room, which was on the opposite side of the mansion, were lit. Naomi had even so generously made hot chocolate for everyone, which was odd, seeing has she no longer had any real obligation to stay. Frost certainly wasn't going to kill her if he could help it.

Frost, wearing a simple assortment of a white t-shirt, a silver watch on his wrist, and ragged jeans, was playing a game of chess with little Lawliet, who was wearing a white sweatshirt and a pair of jeans as well, and because he wasn't wearing any socks, it made him look almost exactly like the original L Lawliet. The little boy was even chewing on his thumb with the utmost determination. The two were in the study, which was considerably far away from the other children so they could concentrate. So far, the young lad was winning by a few pieces after just taking Frost's bishop. However, this solitude was short-lived as Naomi, sporting a black tank-top and a pair of large, dark jeans that drooped down from her waist, entered the room.

"Frost… there's some kid here to see you. He's come here in a limo!" Naomi exclaimed.

Frost sighed, _Near…?_ He stood up slowly and walked towards the door, "Wait here, Lawliet. This won't take long," he said as he left the room after grabbing his white jacket and shoving his dirty, white sneakers on.

Lawliet watched him and Naomi leave before looking with his dark eyes back to the chess board. Cheating, he switched several of the pieces around in his favor, as he could analytically tell that he was about to lose, despite him killing off more pieces. He snickered as he did so. The boy was only seven.

Frost stepped outside to greet Near, and Near had definitely appeared as he expected. With a virtual reality-type device attached to his frivolously haired head. It even had a pair of gauntlets to wear. Commander Rester, wearing yet another black suit just as last time, switched the helmet off from the switch on the side.

Near frowned, "What the…? Where did the game go?!" Commander Rester sighed and took the helmet off of his head. "Oh, well, hello there Frost. We meet again."

"Yes, it's nice to see you, too," Frost replied sarcastically with his hands in his pockets. Naomi wasn't beside him, as she watched from a window by the front door.

"I'm sorry if we got off the wrong foot…" Near thought for a second before continuing, "But, then again, I don't think I really care how we started off."

Frost merely scowled at him and narrowed his crimson eyes.

"Well, anyway," he continued, soundly falsely delightful, "let's have this meeting a little brighter, shall we?"

Frost did not reply. He just kept scowling.

Soon, Near was frowning back, "Oh, very well. Let's get inside then. There's something very important I must discuss with you."

Frost wasn't convinced, but he closed his eyes and shrugged, "Alright then, let's go," he replied coolly.

Frost, with his hands still in his pockets, led Near inside the Wammy House yet again. Both Near and Commander Rester followed. As they all headed inside, Near and Rester had immediately noticed Naomi when they entered.

"Hello there," Near greeted in his normal manner, "I didn't see you before when I came here last."

"Well, I just…" Naomi began, but Frost interrupted her when she realized she didn't know what to say.

"Near, this is Naomi. She's one of the newer orphans here," Frost explained lightly, waving in Naomi's direction while introducing her.

Near looked at her oddly," Isn't she a little _old_ to be an orphan?" he asked as he examined her.

"Aren't you a little _short_ to be coming to people and suddenly requesting you wish to see them?" Naomi asked bluntly in retaliation.

Near sighed, "Yeah, it doesn't help to be only five feet tall and old enough to drink," he answered with a disappointed look on his face while Naomi's jaw dropped.

"Alright, well, now that we're all acquainted and such, may we please get on with our meeting?" Frost asked impatiently.

"Very well," Near answered. "Lead the way, Frost."

Frost gladly did so and led both Near and Rester into the study, where Near thought he was going insane upon seeing the little boy who extraordinarily resembled L, known as Lawliet, sitting in the headmaster's gilded chair.

"Oh, welcome back, Mr. Frost," little Lawliet replied with a happy smile on his face as he stood up out of the chair and wandered over towards Frost, and then he looked to Near, and then back to Frost, "Are we getting a new orphan?"

"No, Lawliet," he answered, smiling a bit himself, "This is Near. I'm having a meeting with him now, so if you could…"

"Oh, I understand, Mr. Frost!" Lawliet replied cheerfully and exited the room; taking one last look at Near before he left down the hall.

Frost looked down at the chess board. He took his pawn and killed Lawliet's queen. _Close, but no cigar Lawliet_, he thought with a smile, not realizing the board had been altered. With that, he hung his coat up, as well as Near, and all three of them, Frost, Near, and Commander Rester, all sat down. Frost, of course, sat in the headmaster's "throne."

"So," Frost began,"what was it you needed to talk to me about?"

Near gave him a small gaze before answering, "We know about your notebooks," he answered.

Frost simply blinked, _this must be from the incident with the spy. Near must have obtained a recording or a visual from him. I should just play it cool for now._

"_My_ notebooks?" he asked, as if knowing nothing. "What are these notebooks you speak of?"

"Cut the act," Rester intimidated, "we grabbed a recorder off of the spy you fought. It told us about the notebooks you had."

"However," Near continued for him, adding in the details, "We also know that the spy had one, too. You had, from what the tape said, a 'white' notebook, as well as a black one. The spy's name was Stephen Loud. We know that he was told to kill you and another person. I believe this 'other person' to be Naomi; the girl that you said was an orphan here."

Frost stared at Near for a moment, and Near did the same to Frost. Frost knew he was caught, but then again, what was the point of lying anymore? He never did anything wrong. In fact, he _never_ killed a single person with his Death Note or any other Death Notes.

"Alright," Frost sighed, but a smile was on his face, "I know when I'm caught, but what now. I never did anything wrong. I never killed a single person with a Death Note."

"How can we be sure of that? You could be making a move on us right now," Rester queried, then he turned to Near, "We should arrest him, Near. He could be the one causing these constant heart attacks around the world."

"Hmm?" Frost blinked curiously, "What 'constant heart attacks'? You mean there's been more?"

"Every day, more and more people are being killed by heart attacks," Near explained. "Most of them are criminals, but there have been exceptions. Anyway, you know this from our last meeting."

"Like what 'exceptions'?"

"Well," Near began,"such as the attack on the Wammy House nearly a week ago. Even news anchors who denied any such return of Kira have been killed. However, I have nearly ruled you out as a cause to this, since you denied ever believing in Kira's ideals of a utopia.

"Nonetheless, I have also come to an understanding that there may be more than one notebook. Ever since the spy that infiltrated the Wammy House came, I am able to readily confirm this. _Someone_ is behind all of this. Still, I doubt it is you."

"And why is it that you have come to the conclusion that I have nothing to do with this?" Frost asked calmly.

"Yes, Near," Rester asked, shocked that he had already come up with this.

"While it is true I am not sure whether you had a hand in the initial killings," Near continued, "you, Frost, were _attacked_ by the Death Note. That says to me that, _clearly_, someone wants you dead."

"So, why would someone want _me_ dead?" Frost asked, interested in where Near was going with this.

Near smiled, "From what I gathered from our recording of the most recent incident, and probably the only reason any of the orphans but you were attacked… was because of your white notebook."

"Well," Frost began with a sigh and a smirk, "it appears you have ample motive, but do you know what this notebook of mine even does?"

"I am going to guess that it doesn't simply kill by writing a person's name down, but possibly does something else?" Near was beginning to become satisfied with these answers.

"What if I told you that you were right, and that this notebook of mine did not simply kill people like you say, but instead prevented the murder of anyone whose name was written?" Frost asked as if theoretical and did not let his guard down.

Both Near and Rester were intrigued by this statement, but more so Rester than Near. Near was simply interested so that he could put the case together, but Rester had other ideas. _A notebook… that saves lives_? Rester thought with a desire to wield such an item. Near could see it in his eyes, however, as he glanced over at him.

"I do have such a notebook, but I'm afraid that I cannot simply give it away to you," Frost announced, interrupting Rester's thoughts.

Rester was not pleased by such a remark, and so he stood up, "Don't you see what kind of power that is?"

Frost looked up at Rester with impatient, red eyes, but closed his eyes and smirked, "Okay, then why don't you tell me?"

Rester was irritated now, "Don't act like a smart-ass! You know what kind help this could be for the FBI?! For the CIA?! That notebook shouldn't be in your hands, it should be in ours!"

Frost sighed, as he knew that Rester was way over his head, "And yet, such an item ends up in _mine_."

Rester looked like he was about to strike Frost, but something struck_ him_ harder. His heart beat with a hard thud before he grabbed his chest and fell to his knees on the floor, knocking the chair he once sat in out of the way. Both Near and Frost stood up instantly with surprise and shock in their eyes.

"Commander Rester! Commander Rester, what's wrong?!" Near yelped hurriedly, kneeling down next to the sprawled out officer.

Frost looked at the watch the was hidden on his wrist for a moment before immediately clicking a dial on the watch several times before it opened up to reveal a small clipping of notebook paper. He grabbed a pen from the desk he sat at, but then realized that he did not know Rester's name.

"Near, what's his name?" he asked, panicking.

"What?! What do you plan to do?!"

"JUST TELL ME HIS GODDAMN NAME!" Frost commanded with his crimson eyes wide; staring down at Near.

Before Frost could continue, something outside caught his eye. He looked to the window to his right to see a man in a black trench-coat and black hair running off from the limousine parked outside. Frost tore off his watch and handed it to Near.

"Write his name down quickly. I promise you it'll prevent him from dying!" he instructed Near before grabbing his coat and rushing out the door.

Before Near could say anything to him, Frost was already gone. Frost brushed past Naomi on his way out the front door, but he was running too fast for her to ask him why. He leapt over the front steps with a splash of snow after landing on his feet, and sprinted out to the sidewalk at his right to catch up with the attacker.

Luckily, the sidewalk was pretty straight along, and Frost was a very good runner, so it wasn't hard to begin to see the guy looking behind him to see if he was being chased. When the man saw Frost, he began to run even faster, but Frost was far quicker. His speed surpassed this guy's, and he was already soon catching up to him after he made a left turn onto another street. Frost followed in time to see the man climb over a nearby fence to escape, but this was futile. Frost leapt over the rusty fence and into someone's yard.

The two were still on the move, with Frost still managing to catch up. He and the man were now running down an alleyway after taking a right over yet another fence. The man knew he had nowhere to go but up, so he did so by jumping onto a ladder leading up to a fire escape. Frost climbed onto the ladder and hastily followed the man as they ran up several flights of metal stairs.

The fire escape soon ended at the roof of a pizza place. Frost thought he had the man now, but in a move of unbelievable desperation, the man sprinted along the roof as fast as he could and then flew over top of one roof to another. Although astoundingly daring, the man made it and proceeded to escape. However, Frost wasn't going to let him get away from him that easy. He sprinted over top of the roof as well, and even managed to land on his feet on the other roof. But, as surprised as he was, there was no time to lose. He rushed over to the other end of the rooftop and headed down this fire escape and into another alleyway.

As he headed down, he saw the guy attempting to run down the alleyway. He leapt over the railing of the last set of steps and chased after the guy. This was it. He attempted to grapple over the metal fence at the other end of the alley, but it was too late. Frost pinned him against the fence.

"Who are you?!" Frost growled as he turned the guy around to get a look at him.

The man looked stunned, but insane. His long, black hair was all over his sweating face as he cried out, "My name is Mikami! Teru Mikami! I didn't do anything!"

--

**Yet again, no new rules. Also, this is technically the longest chapter yet in _Death Note: HOD_.**

**- The Materialist**


	15. Assistance

**XIV**

Tuesday, January 1, 2013 3:05 PM

Frost swung open the door to the study in an instant. In his pale, right hand he held Teru Mikami by the collar of his black shirt underneath his trench-coat, insuring he wouldn't escape. Near turned around while still kneeling down next to the fallen Commander Rester; the man was clearly dead. His dark, bottomless eyes widened angrily when he saw Mikami yet again.

"Teru Mikami," Near snarled quietly, "what is it you've gotten yourself into _this_ time?"

"So, you know this guy?" Frost asked, letting go of the reckless, former criminal.

Near completely ignored Frost as Mikami answered for himself, "I didn't do anything, Near! I told you before… Gevanni… Mr. Stephen Loud… he put me up to all this! He's using me-!"

"SHUT _UP_!" Near roared with emotion in his voice, something no one could have known existed in him. "Commander Rester is dead, and you just keep putting this on Gevanni! Why is that _you_ keep appearing and not Gevanni?!"

Frost was beginning to find this all a little extreme, "Near, maybe he's right. What if it isn't him?"

Near kept staring at Mikami, who was now backed up against the wall, but answered Frost, "You don't know this madman like I do," he started calmly, but then looked Frost in the eye and his voice rose, "so keep out of this!"

"If you cared so much about your Commander, then why didn't you write his name down like I told you?!" Frost asked, now utterly confused.

Near held up the silver watch in his hands with the paper clipping in the open slot still blank and looked from the watch to Frost before answering, "I promised Commander Rester that I would never use a Death Note, even if it meant for his or any of the SPK members' well-beings." Near then threw the watch to Frost.

Frost stared at Near for a moment silently as he caught the shining watch, _so… he does at least hold respect for other human beings besides himself. I guessed he vowed that because of the Kira incident and how Kira used a Death Note, like he said._ Little did Frost realize, he was beginning to respect Near himself, despite his disliking of him.

"Still," Near continued onward, beginning to calm down, "I suppose if you're consistently blaming Gevanni, then he may be at fault like you say," he said, turning back to Mikami. "Nonetheless, I _will_ find out and avenge Commander Rester's death."

Mikami looked relieved that he was finally being believed for the first time. He was also grateful that he wasn't being blamed for everything for now. However, he was not off the hook yet, as Near gave him one final warning glance before standing up to continue his speech.

"And as for you, Frost," Near looked toward Frost and paused for a moment, staring at him with an intent eye, "I do not believe that you are at fault if you tried to help save the Commander. I… thank you." Near couldn't help but give off a twinge of a real smile this time.

Frost smiled as well_, could this mean that Near finally trusts me? Or is he only letting me think that his guard is down because he's still suspicious? Either way, I'll have to go along with what he's planning for now._ As Frost thought about all of this, Near walked over to the hanger and grabbed his white coat off from it.

"So, you're leaving now, I guess?" Frost asked him.

"Well, we've got to get the Commander's body out of here," Near responded as he walked over to Rester's body. "You want to help me with him?"

Frost shrugged and walked over to the head of the body and the two picked up Rester's body off of the maroon carpet below and carried his body out. Mikami watched them exit the study until finally he followed them out. As they headed out, a few of the children managed to see the body. One of them even cried at the sight of it. Lawliet was one of those children standing there, and that was the second time that he had ever seen such an event. _He_ was the one who cried.

Meanwhile, Near and Frost loaded the Commander Rester's body into the limousine. The chauffer opened the door for them. Once the deed was done, Near instructed Mikami to get into the limousine as well before turning back to Frost yet again.

"Your help has allowed me to get closer to solving this case," Near thanked, "therefore, I would like to ask you for your help."

"_My_ help?" Frost wondered out loud.

"Yes," Near continued calmly, "for you see, you seem to know more about this growing threat than I certainly do. With that, I would like to give you my consent in helping the SPK solve this case. Would you like to help me?"

Frost examined Near for a moment, _if I disagree to this, then Near's suspicion will come back, so if I agree, what have I got to lose?_

"Alright, but I only ask that I stay here at the orphanage," Frost turned his head over to the doors of the orphanage to see some of the children peeking outside, and then he shifted back to Near, "I think it would be best for all of them if I stayed with them."

"Of course," Near readily agreed before getting back to the limousine, "but if ever you change your mind, just call. I'm going to need someone to take Commander Rester's place anyway."

Frost nodded in agreement before the chauffer opened Near's door for him. Near entered and immediately put his virtual reality helmet back on, as well as the gloves that connected to it, and switched it on. The door closed and the black limousine drove off. Frost gave a sigh and walked back inside through the front yard; the orphans opened the door up for him.

--

**Need I say it? No new rules for now. Also, I apologize if this chapter isn't up to snuff. This is another one of those chapters that I need to create to initiate something. Still, I did the best I could with the right idea, in my opinion.**

**- The Materialist**


	16. Trust

**XV**

The Shinigami Realm (One week later)

"He never killed the Angel," Sidoh whined miserably, sitting next to the other Shinigami who were all confused and just as depressed about their current situation. "We're all going to die… aren't we?"

"But, wait, aren't we already dead?" another Shinigami asked, even more confused about Sidoh's remark.

"We won't be sent to Mu. Frost probably has some sort of plan. He should at least have our ideals in mind, right?" Nu replied with a glint of hope in her numerous eyes. She was one of the only Shinigami left who still held faith in Frost.

Ryuk stared at the huddled Shinigami on top of a ledge; his usual spot. He watched them as they moped around about their inevitable deaths. But, he, however, knew something that they did not. Ryuk pulled out his spare notebook. _Why did that girl give my Death Note back to me?_ He asked himself. _She held Altaiyar's notebook… if she is an Angel, and I know she is… then, why didn't she unleash its power and eliminate me? Just as well, why did she kill one of her own brethren? Even if she was frustrated with him, she wouldn't kill him like she did, would she?_ He had been pondering over these questions ever since the incident.

After a long look at his second notebook, he put it away with his other one. _Either way, I can't trust her as long as she's in possession of the old man's Death Note. Besides, Frost hasn't killed a single Angel in a week. If she's on his side, shouldn't he have persuaded her to kill them?_ Ryuk looked to his sorrowful Shinigami brethren and then up to the large ball of negative space floating above.

In a flash, he dropped down to the ground floor and rocketed off to the Central Portal, which was the entrance to the Human World. Chains were vines and the stalactites were its cobwebs. It was a dark, desolate place at best. _I suppose… it may be up to me to attack the Angels head-on. Plus, I'm gonna need to get my third notebook back._ He added that last thought with a smirk.

--

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 10:30 PM

It was dark out now and many of the orphans had gone to bed. The night had crawled in with a certain calmness that was surprising. Then again, nothing significant had occurred over the past week. Everything seemed normal. Snow still remained on the ground, however, but there was nothing suspicious about that. After all of the hectic events, it was nice to have days like these that had followed.

All of the orphans had gone back to school after their winter break was complete. Many whined over it, but a handful was glad to go back after such a long time out. But, Frost was not one of those people. He had a duty at the orphanage to be its temporary headmaster. The Board of Orphans was even paying him since he had taken over. It was quite a generous fund as well. Therefore, he could continue paying the private teachers at the orphanage that were teaching the children. Nonetheless, Frost didn't want to stay cooped up as a headmaster for the rest of his young, 18-year-old life.

Frost, wearing a plain, white hooded sweatshirt with a simple pair of blue jeans, was still awake, in, what was now, _his_ study. He sat in the headmaster's throne-like chair. He looked up at the ceiling with a calm look in his eyes. Soon, he turned his attention outside, where he noticed what looked like Naomi sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Looking for some company, he dipped his feet in his dirty shoes and headed outside.

He slowly stepped down the front steps and looked to the northeast of the courtyard to see Naomi, who was wearing a white top under Frost's white jacket and a pair of jeans with black skateboarding sneakers, staring up at the starry sky above. There was a single cloud to be seen.

Frost smiled and walked over to her through the crunching snow. He gently sat himself down beside her on the wooden bench and dazed at the sky with Naomi.

"It looks really nice up there," Naomi mumbled to Frost.

"Yeah," he responded back, "it sure does."

There was a short pause and then Frost tilted his head down towards his hands, "I wonder what it's like… to die, you know?"

"I've killed so many people in the past," Naomi replied, turning her head to Frost now, "and yet, I never really thought about that. I was just… doing it to survive."

"You're an Angel, right?" Frost asked hesitantly, thinking whether he should ask or not.

Naomi stared at him for a moment and then smiled, "Yeah… I thought you knew that by now."

Frost smiled weakly back with a small chuckle, "I kind of did, yeah."

Naomi looked back up to the night sky above and sighed, "Arc… was the first of us," she admitted, catching Frost's attention immediately. "He told us all how Altaiyar, the Shinigami King, was killing the Shinigami Realm after creating another planet. He said that's what happened with Altaiyu, the previous Shinigami King, after he gave up his 'life' and created the First World, named after him."

Frost nodded and stared down at his lap, _yeah, I remember that. That's what the voice told me. That's what… God told me._

"So," Naomi continued, "we killed people many times over in Altaiyu, as a way to smite the Shinigami King, and we believed we could do it again… with this world. But, little did we realize that Altaiyar hadn't created a 'perfect world' like Altaiyu did, so he still held some of his power left by making this world 'imperfect.'"

"Then, he made you all human as a way to smite you all back?" Frost asked curiously, looking to Naomi now.

"Yes, then he transformed himself into a Death Note, so he could kill us while we were down," she answered grimly. "He did that when Altaiyu showed up in the Shinigami Realm."

"I see," Frost replied hesitantly, taking all of this new information in.

Naomi turned her attention back to Frost and looked him in the eye, "That's why… I… I killed Arc, Frost."

Frost stared blankly back at Naomi and after a long while, he turned his head back to his lap, closed his eyes, and heaved a sigh, "I knew it. I figured it was suspicious that he ended up gone all of the sudden."

"So," Naomi asked, surprised, "you aren't mad?"

"No… if you needed to do it, then the deed has been done," Frost locked eyes with Naomi again and smiled. "I trust you."

Naomi couldn't help but smile as well. She was glad to trust and be trusted by someone else. This friendship with Frost was nothing like her relationship with the other Angels. She actually rather liked this one. _I_, she thought warmly, _I have a real friend after all._

--

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 11:20 PM

"So, Ryuk, these Angels you're talking about may be the reason for all of the killings?" Near asked calmly, staring darkly at a monitor in front of him with a video game controller in his hands with his thumbs fiddling away.

"Yeah," Ryuk confirmed with a grin on his face, "they're trying to destroy the Earth as a way to smite the Shinigami King. They won't stop until their goal's complete."

"Are they all of the bad?" he asked impatiently.

Ryuk couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, from what the other Shinigami and I know. In fact, there's a girl over at that orphanage who's an Angel."

"I see," Near replied, as he earned a "game over" on his game, "Well, then I will investigate that lead thanks to the information you've given me. Then, if you're right, Ryuk," an abnormal, crimson gleam flashed in Near's dark eyes, "these Angels will have to be eliminated at all costs."

"But, how are you gonna do this?" Ryuk asked curiously, but was at least pleased that his plan was going into action. "How do you expect to find them all alone?"

"I'm not," Near answered with a smile. "I will admit that I'm going need some help and make a few calls. If I solved the Kira Incident, then I can certainly solve _this_ case."

--

**_The current holder of this Death Note cannot write their own name down to prevent their own death. If the holder wishes to prevent their death, someone else must write their name for them._**


	17. Author's Note 2

**Author's Note 2**

Greetings yet again! I have returned from my vacation to bring you more chapters of _Death Note: HOD_. Yes, that is why I have only been able to post two chapters over the past week; vacation just gives me "writer's block." In this author's note, I feel the need to explain some important concepts that I believe need to be clarified from the story thus far.

_**Frost's Albinism**_

First of all, one reviewer questioned Frost's albinism, which is plenty fine. Although I had explained in chapter 2, "Testing", that review made me think about his albinism, and I believe it to be my duty to go into detail. To start, there are two types of albinism: oculocutaneous and ocular albinism.

Oculocutaneous albinism is a stronger form of albinism that can range from nearly-normal pigmentation of the eyes, skin, and hair to a complete lack of pigmentation; complete with white hair, very pale skin, and crimson eyes. Ocular albinism is simply having loss of pigmentation in the eyes; causing them to become red due to no pigmentation to cover blood vessels in the eyes. Same with the former. Frost has a form of oculocutaneous albinism, which is why his skin is pale and his eyes are red, but he only has partial loss of pigmentation in his hair. That's why some of his hair is black.

Secondly, those with albinism carry many possible symptoms, such as astigmatism, photophobia, and many other eye-related problems. Frost only has a case of photophobia, which causes his eyes to be very sensitive to bright lights and glare, as well as spontaneous switching from darkness to light. However, his case of it isn't extraordinarily bad, but he covers his face with his hood because the light still bothers him. For this, the term "half-albino" is only something he calls it and is not a technical term.

_**The Past of the Shinigami Realm **_**(MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!)**

Now that that's out of the way, I also believe it necessary to explain what has been going on with the subject of the Shinigami Kings, Altaiyu and Altaiyar. Altaiyu was the first Shinigami King, but during his reign, the Shinigami Realm was teeming with life and happiness. At this peaceful time, they were known as Angels, and the Shinigami King was known as God. Therefore, the Shinigami Realm was fittingly called Heaven.

However, despite their happiness, the Angels became bored of their existence. Just as well, Mu did not exist yet due to the fact that Angels could not die. So, to fill their boredom, Altaiyu sacrificed himself to create a world named after himself where mortals, which were called humans, roamed. The Angels had fun granting the people of Altaiyu happiness, but they spent so much time in Altaiyu, that they forgot about their own Heaven, and so it began to deteriorate. A group of Angels became frustrated at their brethren, so they combined their powers to create a void of nothingness, known as Mu, in which the humans on Altaiyu could die. Altaiyar was the leader of that rebellious group of Angels, and when all of his other brethren learned that humans could die, war broke out. Happiness could no longer exist, and in a final effort, Altaiyar and his rebel group caused chaos in Altaiyu; nearly creating its utter destruction.

Altaiyar also created Earth during this time; against the will of his small group of Angel brothers and sisters that fought so hard along side him. However, what he didn't realize was that he soon became frail in doing this, even if Earth wasn't perfect (which was on purpose). As a way for the Angels to have fun, he created Death Notes from a combination of metals and chemicals from Earth and Heaven so his brethren could still bring themselves happiness.

What Altaiyar didn't realize was that the world deteriorated just as well, the Angels had transformed into horrible creatures that could only survive on the Death Notes he had once given them simply for fun. Fun could no longer exist either. They soon fittingly named themselves Shinigami, and the world they inhabited was now the Shinigami Realm, as a sign of their lost creativity.

The group of opposing Angels (which were now Shinigami as well) felt spiteful towards their former leader, and now wished to take their revenge on his new world. They continued to call themselves Angels, as their new leader, Arcanine, a.k.a. Arc, a.k.a. Axel Godwin, believed they were saviors of Heaven and was disgusted by the Shinigami Realm; even going so far as to think that the Shinigami Realm was a nightmare void of Heaven.

On their revenge binge, they caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, used the Black Plague in Europe (which ended up killing 1/3 of the population), and even helped support the Holocaust (they had nothing against the Jewish, just people in general). They were even responsible for much of the Kira Incident, which brought Death Notes themselves into the picture. Infuriated, Altaiyar banished the Angels into human form and forced them to experience the pain they caused first-hand by killing off their human families in various cruel fashions.

After this was accomplished, he realized that the Angels had been one step ahead and brought their Death Notes and Shinigami Eyes down to Earth with them. Yes, they could even overthrow some of Altaiyar's powers. In fact, they even created a portal in the Shinigami Realm to Altaiyu that would eventually consume it in the abomination that it had become.

In order to save the Shinigami that he still considered brethren, Altaiyar used the last of his power, as well as the rest of his frail being, to transform himself into a Death Note that would work in junction with a normal Death Note to kill the Angels. He became a Death Note that could prevent murders and control peoples', and even Shinigamis' minds into killing others.

--

With that, I would also like to make a few smaller notes, but are also important. First of all, Frost's birthday has been changed in chapter 2, "Testing", from December 31, 1997 to December 22, 1993. I made this alteration because the previous birthday would have made him 15-years-old, when in reality he is 18-years-old. Also, I wanted his birthday to be on the Winter Solstice, so I had to change the day. Lastly, if it was the 31st, someone would have had to say something about his birthday.

Realizing that this now made Frost almost a full year older than Near, that would have meant Near was only about 17-years-old. I was worried about this due to his remark about him being able to drink and he wasn't 18. Immediately, I checked to see that the drinking age in the U.K. (which is where the story takes place, as that is where the Wammy House is located.) The drinking age there is 16, and the _purchase age_ is 18.

Lastly, a few minor grammar and spelling mistakes have been changed and fixed to make more sense.

So, with this all said, I will take my leave for now. **A poll is now up on my profile page relating to this story and a _possible_ sequel, so make sure to vote!** Thanks again for reading!

- The Materialist


	18. Flight

**XVI**

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 6:00 AM

The morning was still young, but it was a brighter morning as the sun rose with its many vibrant colors. Despite the beauty of the sky, the orphans were up and about as today was yet again another day of school for them. Some were running around, getting their things, while others, like Lawliet, were eating a healthy, normal breakfast.

Frost sat with him at a table in the kitchen with a television in the corner with the Today Show on for the morning news, meanwhile wearing a white sweatshirt with thin, gray stripes and a pair of dark jeans. Lawliet was all dressed in his normal white sweatshirt and baggy jeans. Again, he refused to wear socks, but unlike the L before him, little Lawliet sat normally with a bowl of Kix cereal and milk. Frost, however, liked his Frosted Mini Wheats while he watched the news. It was good to have a normal morning while thinking about the fact that he held two Death Notes upstairs under his mattress. Yes, Naomi had gladly given it back to him.

Speaking of Naomi, she was following the children and helping them get ready for school. She was already acting like a responsible mother and she technically wasn't even human, despite her appearance as a person.

Frost looked at Lawliet's box of Kix with a curious eye, "Kix? Who eats _that_ anymore?" he teased, taking the orange box and studying it.

"I do, Mr. Frost," the little boy answered plainly. "Now, could you please hand it back? I think I'm going to have some more."

Frost smiled and planted the box back onto the table in front Lawliet, "Go ahead. None of the other orphans are gonna eat it," he remarked as he swallowed down another spoonful of Mini Wheats with his eyes now locked on the television screen again.

"Well, no one's gonna want Mini Wheats, either," Lawliet came back.

"Exactly," Frost replied, pointing his spoon at the young boy, "that's because it's mine."

Suddenly, there was a call to him from Naomi, "Frost, there's someone at the door who needs to see you."

"Well, I guess I'll be right back, squirt!" Frost stood up from his chair and walked over to the front door down the hall.

He arrived at the door to see Naomi wearing a white t-shirt with a pair of denim shorts. She was looking at Frost with slight concern in her red Shinigami Eyes as she held the door open. A man in a stood with a black fedora hat, trench coat, pants, and shoes, and his hands were in stuffed neatly in his pockets.

"Hello, sir, what can I..." his voice faded when the man looked up at him with a pair of his own Shinigami Eyes, which were shadowed thanks to his hat, "help you with?"

"Are you Mr. Frost?" the man asked pleasantly.

"Yes, that's my name," Frost answered, "What is you need of me?"

Naomi hid behind the door and only allowed her eyes to be seen as she watched the man with malicious intent. She, apparently, knew who he was. Frost barely turned his own eyes to see her expression. He could tell just by that that this man was up to no good. The man tilted his head slightly over to Naomi, attempting to stare her down, but she didn't allow herself to fear him.

The man then turned back to Frost with a small smile, "My name is Victor Stapleton. My superior would like to have a word with you."

"Could you call for an appointment, at least? You see, we're having breakfast right now," Frost replied sternly, but made the effort to sound sincere.

Mr Stapleton smiled, but that was soon lost, "I'm afraid that my superior wishes to see you now, Mr. Frost, and there is no other time I may schedule for you."

Frost nodded, "I'll get my coat," he replied simply and headed off to the study with Naomi quickly following behind him.

When they reached the study, Frost grabbed his white jacket and stuffed his sneakers on. _What is this guy up to? Obviously, if he has Shinigami Eyes, then he can't have good intentions for meeting me. But, who could his 'superior' possibly be?_ He thought as Naomi entered the room.

"You don't have to speak with this guy, you know," Naomi suggested, almost as if pleading.

"I know, but if he has Shinigami Eyes, then he definitely has a Death Note. Besides, he wouldn't just kill me, would he?" Frost reasoned as he walked over to the doorway of the study.

"Yeah, but-" Naomi was interrupted by an unexpected hug.

"This is simply for if I don't make it out," Frost whispered to her with a smile.

Naomi blushed, not exactly sure what to do but hug him back, "You'll come back," she promised. "You're right. If they want to just see you, then they probably won't want to kill you."

Frost let go, staring into Naomi's eyes one last time before taking off, "Well, might as well tell Lawliet where I'm going. You know how curious that kid is."

Naomi just stood there somewhat confused, but then realized that Frost really did think he was going to die. _He must have realized who that Stapleton guy was_, she thought, _he was Angel... like me. The only reason they would want to see Frost is if they knew he had the notebook. But, is he taking them with him in case...? No, Frost wouldn't be that arrogant about this._

"Hey, squirt," he greeted Lawliet, "I'm going to be leaving for an appointment, alright?"

"Sure, but," Lawliet questioned curiously, "why are you telling me?"

"Just because I thought you might want to know," he concluded as he walked out the door to see Mr Stapleton on the front steps waiting for him.

"Alright, I'm ready to-" but, strangely enough, sirens began to wail in the background and soon grew increasingly louder. _What is that?_ Frost asked himself. _Was there a fire or something?_

However, there wasn't a fire, but an unexpected move on an unexpected person's part. In an instant, and armored car bolted in front of the Wammy House, as well as about six police cars. Sirens blared and flashing lights reigned over the gentle morning. Police officers rushed out of there cars and began pointing guns at Mr Stapleton and a limousine parked outside.

Just when things began to get confusing, Near of all people, hopped out of the armored car and out into the open; with his outfit being his white jacket and a pair of white dress pants with a pair of white sneakers to top it off. For the first time, he wasn't playing video games. A dark-haired man whom Frost didn't recognize and Teru Mikami stood next to him as they came out from the armored vehicle. Mikami whispered something into Near's ear.

Near grabbed a megaphone from the dark-haired man to his right, "This is the police and the SPK," he shouted calmly through the megaphone, "All of you in the limousine, come out with your hands up behind your heads. Mr. Victor Stapleton, you as well, put your hands up behind your head and turn around."

Mr. Stapleton obeyed, but Frost was completely confused, "What the hell's going on?!" he yelped helplessly.

But, before Near could could answer him, his eyes widened and his hand was clenched around his heart. He fell to his knees and gasped for air. Near was having a heart attack. The Angels had gotten him.

Little did the Angels know, however, was that Mikami flipped out his own watch, identical to Frost's own watch, and took a pen from his trench coat pocket. With it, he quickly wrote down Near's real name in order to prevent his death. A sign of his allegiance, no doubt. Remarkably, it worked, and Near was soon enough back up on his feet.

Frost witnessed this feat and was stunned, _how did he get a hold of a piece of the Shinigami King's notebook if he gave that same piece from before back to me? Had he kept it after all and switched it with a normal scrap of paper while I was gone?_ He had many questions about this whole predicament, but he could tell now wasn't necessarily the time to ask.

Naomi peered out the window of the study to see this for herself, and she was just as surprised; possibly even more so because she didn't know what went on with Frost and Near's previous meeting.

"I won't say it again," Near continued as if nothing just happened. "Step outside of the limousine with your hands up."

Instead, however, Mr. Stapleton turned around and defied Near's orders, "Sir, I said to stay turned around!" he shouted into the megaphone, but the man didn't listen.

A shadow crossed over his eyes and without warning, huge, white, metal wings sprouted out from his back. His fedora hat flew off of his head as he flapped his metallic wings, thus revealing his short blond hair. His Shinigami Eyes glowed devilish red and his expression became twisted as he grabbed Frost and flew off into a suddenly open door of the limousine. Frost was in a daze, as he didn't quite understand what was going on. _Could it be that Mr. Stapleton was revealing his true form?_ Nonetheless, the police gasped in awe, but constantly shot at the man and his wings, but it was no good.

"Near! Help me!" Frost cried, but in a flash, they were already in the black limo and had shot off to the street at the left.

--

_**If a person's name is written twice or more in this Death Note because of another Death Note, then that person can no longer be killed by that Death Note.**_

_**If a person's name is written in this Death Note four times or more in a row, this Death Note will no longer take effect on the written person's name. If it is a piece of paper, then this will only apply for the paper itself. Just as well, if done in the Death Note itself, this will apply for the entire Death Note.**_


	19. Redemption

**XVII**

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 9:00 AM

Darkness had consumed Frost's vision much after the incident. He wondered where he was; what was going on, but the answer was clear. Either he was going to be taken hostage, or he was going to inevitably die. That much he could cope with. _So be it then_, Frost thought to himself before he entered his current unconscious state. Nonetheless, at least the past few weeks had been truly exciting. He obtained the notebook that could decide the fate of the world, he met God and came back to life, and he even met a fantastic girl who wanted nothing more than to help him in his quest. It was certainly a way to go out with a bang.

When he finally came back into consciousness, he found himself in a large warehouse. Boxes and crates of various dulled colors piled up to the high ceiling. A fan creaked above a huge set of metal doors. He attempted to move himself, and to his surprise, he could move. He wasn't tied down to a chair or anything. He was completely free to move, albeit stuck in a warehouse, but nonetheless it was better than being tethered down to one, uncomfortable spot.

"You surprised?" a deep, ominous voice asked calmly from above him.

Frost didn't bother looking around, but instead answered the bellowing voice, "Yes, I am a little. This is especially since I know who I'm dealing with."

Frost could immediately hear footsteps behind him and he slowly turned to his back, preparing himself for the worst, "I won't lie to you," the voice spoke. "It wasn't necessary for our meeting. It would've been a waste."

"So, you don't even want to bother tying me down first?" Frost asked as a figure stepped out from the shadows before him.

It was indeed an Angel, which became apparent when his Shinigami Eyes flashed at him. However, something seemed different about this Angel than the others. One of the most significant things was that he had a common theme in his appearance. What he wore, how he looked: it all screamed "wolf."

His hair was pure white and had a spiked/ruffled sort of style. But, this was barely noticeable due to the hood over his head, even in such limited light as this. His skin was quite pale, and he wore a a black coat with white, fur lining. He wore a pair of black jeans with holes in the knees, and his shoes were a pair of black, military-like boots. He was a visionary of toughness. There were even several long scars over his face and his chest, which could be seen because he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath his open coat. In fact, the man was very muscular all around. He even had a six-pack popping out of his lower torso.

"You won't need to be tied down for what I have to tell you," the man assured himself calmly.

Frost looked at the Angel, not with hate, but with curiosity. The strangest thing was that the Angel wasn't really looking at him, but at Frost's feet; as if he couldn't look at him for some reason.

"Are you... are you blind?" Frost asked curiously with his mouth slightly agape.

The Angel looked up, now directly at Frost, but not really _to_ him, "Yes," he admitted, "and I believe that will give you enough reason to hear me out."

Frost, to his own amazement yet again, wished to listen to what he had to say, "What about the other Angels? Where are they?"

"They are not of any concern to either you or I at this very moment, so please listen," the Angel replied simply. "My name is Fenrir Grayfox, the leader of the Angels."

Immediately, Frost was already confused by that very statement, "I thought Arc was-"

"Arcanine was only the first of us, but that does not mean that he was the leader at any time," Fenrir answered calmly. "I have been and still am the leader of the Angels. Just as well, since I am their leader, you suspect that I believe in killing this world... don't you?"

That was exactly what Frost was thinking, "Y-yes... that was what I was worried about."

Fenrir chuckled a little before answering with the same calm that he bore through every word he spoke, "I thought you might. But, the fact is that I never believed in Arcanine's lies, and luckily Naomi saw through that as well, I presume."

"Yes," Frost answered with a nod, although realized that Fenrir couldn't see it, "well, she doesn't believe in him, either."

"Hmph," Fenrir responded as he shook his head, "it's just too bad the other Angels didn't see it the same way," he continued, folding his arms to his chest. "Nonetheless, I still didn't quite agree with Altaiyu's method of creating a 'perfect' world. Altaiyar was our original leader, so I respected him enough to believe what he was doing was right. Arcanine, though... he wanted to destroy everything. He said to the other Angels that Altaiyar had become what he intended to stop... and the others had trusted him so blindly. But, you knew this already?"

"No... no, I had no idea," Frost mumbled back with his head hung low. _All this time... my best friend, for years, had been this scheming evil to the Shinigami Realm._

"From your tone... you were friends? Or at least you knew him?" Fenrir asked curiously, never losing his calm, but not sounding too concerned either.

"Yeah, that's right, but what would it be to you?"

"Arcanine probably wanted to escape his problems after being cast out by Altaiyar, so he sought refuge with a human child such as yourself," Fenrir concluded.

There was silence for a moment, but that moment was broken once Frost remembered what Naomi had told him about all of the Angels being punished, "Say, why were you all turned human? It's just... if you trusted Altaiyar... then why are _you_ human?"

For the first time, Fenrir was hesitant, but soon answered with a different tone: a grave one, "Altaiyar wanted all of us to experience the killings we had committed. He believed it only fair if we all received the same treatment. Not one of us should have been deemed special enough to escape it."

"Oh," Frost sighed lightly with his head hung yet again. "So, what about his notebook?"

"Altaiyar's notebook?" Fenrir asked rhetorically. "I don't wish to take it from you. I would not wish to infuriate him anymore than I already have with my disobedience. However, there is one job I wish to ask you of, and that is the true reason why you are here."

"What would you ask me to do?" Frost asked, expecting the worst.

There was a pause, and then Frost knew this was going to be serious or very bad for him, "Fredrick Alastair River," Fenrir announced quietly, "I need you to kill your brother... Nate River."

Frost's crimson eyes widened in shock, but he stopped himself from losing his cool before things were to get out of hand, "Near... Near's my brother?"

"Yes, your younger sibling to be exact," Fenrir confirmed, "and I need _you_ to kill him."

"B-but, why me? I have to kill him? Why is that?!" Frost yelped, confused out of his wits.

"A man named Stephen Loud, a.k.a. Stephen Gevanni, is using him as a scapegoat to hide behind and obtain information from," Fenrir informed him calmly, "You must kill Nate River to bring him out into the open."

"But, why can't I just kill Gevanni? In fact, why do I have to kill anybody? Why do you care?"

"It is to redeem us, and so Altaiyar can see that we are a changed people," Fenrir explained, surprisingly not becoming impatient at all, "Besides, if you simply kill Stephen Loud, you will be blamed and Near, as you call him, will suspect you for all of the heart attacks that have been going on around the world. Stephen Loud is killing people just for that reason."

"But, why does he want to blame _me_?"

Fenrir smiled a little at that time, "It is because he wants something _you_ have. He wants Altaiyar's Death Note."

--

**Once again, no new rules. As for those who may have not read the second author's note, don't forget about the poll on my profile page!**

**- The Materialist**


	20. Angels

**XVIII**

_This will... probably be the last time that I can be this comfortable anymore... even in my own thoughts. As many heroes have said, 'my story is not for the feint of heart.' Mine sure isn't, and I don't know if I'd be worthy enough to be a hero. Then again, this is my story, and I can make myself whatever I want in this. I could be the antagonist; the bad guy; the cause of all life as I know it to fade away. No, I think I'm more of a good guy... I always have been after all._

_Killing my own brother isn't exactly what I would call 'something that must be done for the greater good.' In fact, I don't want to do it. However... maybe I don't have to kill him, but find a way to kill Gevanni instead... only if he really does hold a notebook._

_Either way, it's the only lead I've got to who killed Mr. Peterson... Commander Rester... and even myself... Still, how did Near know that the Angels would show up at the Wammy House like they did?_

--

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 7:55 AM

In the meanwhile, Near set up a base at the Wammy House, tracking Frost's location via satellite imaging. He had several laptops set up in front of him all at once in the living room upstairs: one with the satellite tracking present, another he was attempting to look up any information he could find out about these Angels, and on a third he was playing a game of solitaire.

The living room, with it lavish, red, tasseled carpet; huge, crimson chairs, and wide, open area, was perfect for an operation such as the one Near was conducting. Gevanni was also doing his part in looking up information on the Angels. Police officers crowded around inside the living room and even protected the exterior of the building. No one except Frost was to get into that mansion.

The orphans were shocked to see so many police officers in one place such as this. Many of them whispered suspicions to each other; none of which were true. Little Lawliet was one of the only orphans there who really had a good idea of what was going on. _Mr. Frost isn't here_, he examined, _this may have something to do with him after all. That's why he said goodbye to me._ Despite his firm grip on the current situation, inside he still feared for Frost's life. That's when he realized that Naomi wasn't anywhere in sight near the orphans. He understood the strong, but subtle relationship between the two of them, and could comprehend that Naomi may have gone after Frost if it was to save his life.

With this realization in mind, and knowing Naomi's nature that she would attempt to comfort the orphans in times such as this, he ran upstairs to inform Near. Lawliet wanted to help anyway he could, after all. He took a quick right through the large, wooden space that led into the living room. He brushed past the police; straight to Near.

"Excuse me, but-" he was interrupted by Gevanni.

"What are you doing here? Can't you tell we're operating here to find your headmaster?" Gevanni retorted sternly, but Near waved him off.

"What is it... Lawliet, right?" Near asked calmly, not looking at Lawliet, but his game of solitaire instead.

"It's Ms. Silver! She's disappeared," he remarked to Near, which stopped the white-haired genius from his little game.

Normally, he would have thought nothing of it, but instead he very well knew what this meant thanks to Ryuk, "Gevanni, take a large portion of the police officers with you on this one. I think Ms. Naomi's going to try and save Frost from the other Angels."

--

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 9:10 AM

"How do you know all of this? How do you know that Gevanni holds a Death Note?" Frost asked suspiciously.

Fenrir brought on a small smirk and folded his masculine arms across his scarred chest, "Let's just say that we had an insider help us. You know of Teru Mikami, correct?"

Frost then recollected back to the day he chased after Mikami and brought him back to Near, "Yeah, I know him," despite this, he didn't quite understand why Mikami would run away if he was doing a job for the Angels and Near. _If he was a 'double agent', why would he attempt to escape?_

"I must admit, however," Fenrir continued calmly, "Teru Mikami was a bit insane, due to the shock from the death of his 'god', he said, but we were able to persuade him. We showed him that we truly were once gods of death, and he was quick to do as we asked him. Nonetheless, the stress of such a task sometimes proved too much for him and he would attempt to run off."

Frost hung his head in thought, _so that explains why he was running. He really was just insane._ But, this brought another question to Frost, one that he was curious about if this was all true.

"So, then how could you get into contact with him?"

"It was all thanks to Stephen Loud in the first place in his attempts to kill you," Fenrir explained further, and this caught Frost by surprise. "Teru Mikami was 'secretly' being used by him to order around some pawn of his or another. Mikami would always be ordered directly or indirectly by Stephen Loud, but it didn't matter. Mikami made sure to bug the com-links he used with Stephen Loud to make sure that we could hear what was going on from a secure location. In fact, he bugged all of both Stephen Loud and Nate River's com-links, so we would know everything that was going on. There was nothing we didn't know about his case."

"Interesting," Frost mumbled, mostly to himself, as he had surprised at how thorough the Angels had been in their plans to seek out the one with Altaiyar's Death Note: him.

The conversation soon concluded after an unexpected breach by an expected person. The wall shattered open for none other than she whom thought she was Frost's savior: Naomi. Her head was covered by the hood of a black, hooded sweatshirt, which showed her Shinigami Eyes glowing red in anger and hate. She was also wearing a pair of dark-blue jeans instead of the shorts she wore earlier that day. In her left hand was an unconscious Angel that appeared to be Mr. Stapleton. His Metallic wings were spread out weakly in his current state, and as an unusual piece, Naomi had a pair of her own dark-blue and black feathered wings spread like she was a dark angel of sorts.

She dropped Mr. Stapleton and entered the warehouse with her wings still spread. Fenrir slowly turned his blind eyes over close to her direction. Frost was shocked to see her, especially in this enraged state.

"Fenrir Grayfox, I should have known," Naomi hissed.

"Nice to see you, too, Naomi. I was telling Fredrick here about our plans to save the people of this planet, would you like to here?" he asked, somewhat cheerfully.

"Wait," Naomi malignant-looking wings disappeared into her back as she was confused, "I thought you wanted to destroy Earth!"

"Naomi," Fenrir replied, showing a little bit of surprise in his voice, but this wasn't saying much changed, "why do you wish to group all of us together like such? Don't you remember that I never wanted that for this world?"

Naomi hesitated in a reply, so she turned over to Frost, "Well... Frost, are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah," Frost replied, a little quiet after all of the information that had been given to him thus far, "I'm alright, thanks."

"Good," she smiled at him, but a blast was heard and Naomi expression changed instantly from happiness, to a painful, confused look as she fell to her knees immediately.

Frost's eyes widened and he yelled out in terror, "Naomi?!" he looked to the hole in the wall to see none other than Stephen Loud himself standing there with a smoking pistol in his hand.

"That's one," he grinned as he put his gun down to his side, then he looked to Fenrir and put to gun up to him. "You must be the leader, I presume?"

--

**For yet another time, no new rules. Thank you, Ashastana, for the wonderful picture of Frost! It is now posted up as my profile picture! Thanks again!**

**- The Materialist**


End file.
